Jogging or running as a sport just about prima donna. while not requiring lots of apparatus and value, jogging effectively improve the standard of healthcare. But, notice the rhythm and period.

Studies University of Melbourne, Australia, shows, rhythm and period of excess like marathon running, really increase the danger of permanent heart harm.

The main leader of the study, Dr Andre La Gerche, says exercise is just too taxing, like running a marathon, can result in scarring of the ventricle or the proper aspect of the center valves. Scratches are a powerful issue resulting in health complications.

“We determine the proper ventricle of heart the foremost vulnerable to injury from excessive exercise. Section may be a major concern to us after we try and verify the clinical significance of those findings,” said La Gerche, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

“These conditions scale back the heart’s performance, like excessive exercise syndrome, and might cause arrhythmia, or erratic heartbeat.”

In his study, La Gerche conducted an analysis of forty athletes who had no previous history of heart issues. Throughout the athlete is ready to follow the four races directly.

After the race, there’s a modification of heart form athletes.Enlarged heart volume, whereas the proper ventricular operate decreased. every week later, the operate of the valve begins to recover, however it seems the 5 permanent scarring scratches.

“I believe, the human body isn’t designed to exercise arduous for eleven hours nonstop, heart harm therefore it isn’t one thing that is absurd,” said La Gerche, that printed the results of his studies at the eu Heart Journal.

Right ventricle is one in every of the four chambers of the center that pumps blood to the functioning of the lungs. The emergence of scar tissue will weaken its functions effectively, and result in heart failure.

On the study, Professor Sanjay Sharma, University of London and St George’s Medical Director of the London Marathon, calling for additional analysis to ascertain the consequences of marathon in larger teams.”It’s too early to create conclusions, however this study to be a foul indication for a few athletes with bound conditions.”

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Executive Summary

Everyone has heard, at least once in his or her life, of the sport of baseball being referred to as “The American Past-time”. The sport is filled with a deep history of players, fans, and enthusiasts who have come to know, or think they know, the game of baseball all too well. It almost went without challenge they the most important part of offense was hitting the ball, and the most important statistic for a player was his batting average.

    Moneyball tells the true story of a poor baseball team forced to compete in an unfair game. Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland A’s Major League Baseball team, was only given about $41 million dollars by the teams owners to assemble a competitive baseball team. While $41 million dollars may seem like a lot of money, it was the second-lowest payroll in all of baseball. Before the start of the 2002 season, Beane was faced with the seemingly impossible task of replacing Oakland’s two greatest offensive weapons, Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon, who were lost to richer teams. While anyone who wasn’t named Billy Beane had given up all hope, the General Manager set out to find an answer.
    Billy quickly became interested in the ideas of a man named Bill James, who wrote books about statistical analysis of Major League Baseball. Although the game was notoriously impacted by things that could only be described as feats of luck, Bill James believed heavily in a little thing called “probability.” James’ strongest beliefs were that the most important statistics in baseball were the ones that proved to have a direct impact on a team winning or losing a game. He concluded that the two most important statistics on offense that improved a team’s probability of winning were (and still are) On Base Percentage (OBP) and Slugging Percentage. When you combine the two statistics, you get OPS (on base plus slugging). As for pitching and defense, the keys to winning were deemed by James to be the amount of strikeouts and walks a pitcher gives up. Beane had read many of James’ books and quickly became a believer of these ideas as well. Before the Billy Beane era, no one had ever really heard of OPS, but this was all about to change.

    The traditional ways of owning and managing a baseball team were to hire a bunch of old scouts to travel all over the country and watch young guys play ball and decide whether they “had the stuff” or not. Scouts would study a prospect player’s size, athleticism, speed, and strength—all of which Billy had no interest in anymore. What did he want? To win baseball games. What won baseball games? Runs. What produced runs? Walks.
    The Oakland A’s would go on to recruit numerous players who shined in their eyes for reasons that other teams looked right past, or undervalued. In some cases, they took players who otherwise wouldn’t have even made it to pro baseball, and turned them into run producing superstars. With a roster full of nobodies and washed up old players, The A’s went on to set the American League record for the most consecutive games won (20) and finished the season atop the American League West with 103 wins. With only $41 million dollars, the A’s won the same amount of game as the Yankees, who spent a whopping $126 million dollars.

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know from Moneyball

   
1.    Think outside the box. Differentiate yourself from the ideas of others. If you repeat the same old process as everyone else, how are you supposed to stand out and become successful? If Billy Beane had taken his $41 million dollars and invested it the exact same way that the Yankees and Red Sox were, he would have either spent it all on about 5 players, or picked up a roster full of guys with .225 batting averages because all the “good” ones would have already been taken.

2.    Stick to the plan. A plan only works if it is executed strongly and confidently with no exceptions. The key to the A’s success was the management realizing their role in the league and the strategy they chose to implement in order to remain competitive. If you don’t follow the plan, then what on Earth is it even there for anyways? Discipline can make or break you.

3.    Know where you stand. The importance of knowing where your company stands in the industry is key to remaining competitive. There were multiple instances in the book where Billy Beane made strategic moves, often when trading and drafting players, which would allow him to adjust to the team’s surroundings and win more games.

4.    Know where your competitors stand. If you are familiar enough with your competitors, you can often use them to your advantage as Billy does when making trade deals with the richer teams in the league to acquire a little extra cash or maybe even an extra player or two.

5.    Communicate efficiently. Without communication, a company is completely lost in the dark. Efficient communication both internally and externally can provide managers with tons of valuable information that can be used for planning ahead and decision-making. Not only should managers be gaining information through communication, but they should be spreading it throughout the company as well.

6.    Don’t be afraid to make drastic changes. I can’t think of a single successful company who got that way by staying exactly the same. Yes, Darwin’s Law applies even to management. “If we pull this off, we change the game. We change the game for good.”—Billy Beane was actually striving for change. Change was his ultimate goal and also a very important key to his great success.

7.    Pick the right people. You’re going to need a team of your own, you can’t do it all by yourself. Every single person you allow into your company is an enormous investment, and letting the wrong people in can prove to be very risky. Do your research–pick a few important “statistics” of your own that are deemed more important than others.

8.    Be willing to make sacrifices. You can’t always have the entire package. Along with every strength, also comes weakness. On the field, big, strong ball players lack speed. In the office, careful, mistake free employees are slow workers. It is important to choose which qualities are more beneficial to your strategy and stick with them.

9.    Take charge. When something needs to be done, do it without hesitation. Don’t sit around and wait for someone else to make a move. Pieces of a puzzle don’t just fall into place in the business world. You, the manager, are the architect of your company’s business model. Put the pieces together, and do it with authority.

10.    Charisma is the characteristic of a great leader. If there was only one thing I could completely comprehend from Michael Lewis’ depiction of Beane’s personality was his ability to, as said best by his former teammate Lenny Dykstra, “talk a dog off of a meat wagon”. This trait was obviously the backbone to his successful management approach and he absolutely would not have been able to achieve such great results without it.

Full Summary of Moneyball

The Curse of Talent

    Billy Beane was a highly sought after high school prospect. He was considered by most to be the future number-one pick in the Major League draft, however, his value declined and many teams lost interest in him while he gained interest in a full ride scholarship to play both baseball and football (John Elway’s shoes needed filling at the quarterback position) at Stanford University. Billy had the most promising build and tools any scout had ever laid eyes on—he was a rare spectacle indeed. Faced with what would prove to be the biggest decision of his life, all eyes were on Billy. Would he take the $125,000 signing bonus to play for the New York Mets, or would he continue his education at one of the most prestigious Ivy League schools in the nation? Because many teams believed Billy would turn down the money and attend Stanford, he landed as the 23rd overall pick in the draft to the Mets. His decision to sign with the Mets he would later refer to as “the only decision that he would make in his life that is all about the money.” Billy would go on to have a mildly successful, short career that never lived up to the hype of what he “should” have been.

How to Find a Ballplayer

    After becoming increasingly disappointed in his Major League career, Billy Beane Joined the Oakland A’s front office as a scout in 1990 at the age of twenty-eight. Baseball just wasn’t cut out for him anymore. Just a few years later, in 1997, he was named General Manager of the team. Billy viewed the old-timey scouts that worked for him to be the same as the guys who had scouted and recruited him ten years ago. In Billy’s eyes, the scouts were all failures, and he was living proof of that. The scouts would sit around a table in a meeting room and talk about potential prospects, comparing them using tools such as size, shape, speed, and athleticism. Billy fit these criteria all too perfectly years before, and failed. He knew there had to be a much more efficient way to value ballplayers. Billy introduces his newly hired assistant, Paul DePodesta. Paul is a recent Harvard graduate with no baseball background, but a knack for crunching numbers and a special interest in the sport was what caught Billy’s eye. Billy wants to change the game of baseball, and Paul is his secret weapon.

The Enlightenment

    Billy’s career as a Professional Baseball player was rocky, to put it nicely. Although filled with ups and downs statistically, his career was also a constant battle emotionally–with himself. He struggled to live up to the hype, to accept the decision he made to skip out on Stanford. In his mind, Billy was just a guy who should have never made it to where he was—and it was the scouts’ fault for overvaluing him. When Billy came in to work at the front office of the A’s, Sandy Alderson, the general manager at the time, was right in the middle of a little experiment. When previous owner Walter Hass passed away, the Oakland A’s were purchased by businessmen Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann. The new owners, with their business backgrounds, put the team on a much tighter, strict budget. Desperate for an answer, Alderson discovered an author named Bill James, who wrote many baseball analysis books, which he called Abstracts, full of interesting ideas and statistics. James was a strong believer in probability, and if luck was involved in a stat, it was rendered completely irrelevant. In James’ books, he goes on to explain that the two most important statistics on offense are on base percentage and slugging percentage, because each of these statistics are in the most direct relation to probability of scoring runs. The defensive statistic that was focused on most was strikeout to walk ratio, because that had the greatest effect on the probability of not allowing runs. From the moment Alderson introduced Billy to the ideas of Bill James, he was obsessed.

Field of Ignorance

Bill James had no baseball background. He didn’t care about statistics anywhere outside of baseball. He was, in a sense, the mad scientist of professional baseball. He was just so interested and engulfed in baseball statistics and the opportunities he saw within to be exploited, that he spent much of his life doing so. He argued flaws in baseball statistics and better ways to value players other than just the traditional batting average for hitters and earned runs average for pitchers. Bill James had become a baseball genius, yet no one was even noticing. However, backed into a corner and searching for answers, Billy Beane was noticing.

The Jeremy Brown Blue Plate Special

    By the time Billy became the GM in 1997, he had absorbed all twelve of Bill James’ Abstracts. Jeremy Brown, starting catcher at the University of Alabama, was the first jewel in Billy’s newly rendered eyes. Brown was the perfect candidate for the Oakland A’s. He was short and chubby, not an eye-catching physique at all—which would cause him to be overlooked by every other team in the big leagues. But the A’s wanted him badly, because he had a knack for getting on base and producing runs, and that was all that mattered to Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s. They would go on to sign Jeremy Brown for $350,000 as the thirty-fifth pick in the draft.

The Science of Winning an Unfair Game

    Using such an un-traditional approach, the A’s had to choose their team very carefully. Paul stayed busy organizing statistics and numbers into meaningful points of interest and creating various different ideas and approaches to implement into their new business model. The most important number Paul came up with was 95. This was the number of games he calculated that the team must win to reach the playoffs. The next number was 135, which was the amount of runs they would need to score than they allowed in order to reach 95 wins. Although not aware of what is to come, they ended up scoring 800 runs and allowing 653 that year.

Giambi’s Hole

The biggest hole left void in the A’s lineup was, without a doubt, that of first baseman Jason Giambi. In the previous season of 2001, Giambi’s on base percentage was .477, which was the highest in the American League by a long shot. Obviously, Giambi’s ability to reach base and produce runs would be near impossible to replace. However, the lineup was also losing players with less thrilling on base percentages. Beane’s approach to replace Giambi’s .477 OBP was the pick up three new guys who’s average OBP would compare with the average of Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Olmedo Saenz. The three players combines averaged a more realistically replaceable OBP of .364. The three hitters who would emerge are catcher turned first baseman, Scott Hatteberg, the brother of Jason, Jeremy Giambi, and former Yankee stud, David Justice.

Scott Hatteberg, Pickin’ Machine

The most crucial piece of this replacement puzzle would prove to be Scott Hatteberg. Hatteberg suffered an elbow injury while playing catcher for the Boston Red Sox, so naturally he came very cheaply. Billy Beane scooped him up out of free agency, stuck him at first base, and watched an offensive, run producing machine embarrass himself on the corner of the diamond. However, to everyone’s surprise, Hatteberg adapted to his ne position very quickly. Soon enough, people were even referring to him as an “above average” first baseman (Lewis 170). Anything other than the expected offensive productivity from Hatteberg was just considered lagniappe.

The Trading Desk

When the trade deadline came around at the end of June, Billy Beane was not hesitant to make necessary changes whatsoever. He charismatically wheeled and dealed players in and out of his clubhouse like stocks, but there were human beings. Billy didn’t care—he only cared about winning. In a trade with the Phillies, Beane traded Jeremy Giambi, who he had previously thought so highly of, for a player named John Mabry, who he’s hardly know anything about. He wanted to get rid of Giambi because Jeremy seemed to be having too much fun losing games (and also partied and got in trouble a bit too much). “Losing shouldn’t be fun. It’s not fun for me. If I’m going to be miserable, you’re going to be miserable.” (Lewis 201)

Anatomy of an Undervalued Pitcher

Surely enough, pitching had to become a factor in this scheme somewhere along the lines. Coming into a game in relief of All-Star Pitcher Tim Hudson, Chad Bradford too the mound with an 11-5 lead. However, this wasn’t just any ordinary game—The Oakland A’s were on an absolute tear, winning each of their last 19 games and just one win shy of setting an American League record for consecutive games won. Chad Bradford has an interesting background. He was from a small town in Mississippi, hadn’t even been a standout player on his high school baseball team. Somehow or another, he wound up playing for a local community college, moving onto a university college, and then he weaseled his way into professional baseball. Still, no one thought much of him, being a side armed, 84MPH fastball throwing nobody. The A’s saw it differently. His strikeout to walk ratio was more than high enough to catch the attention of Billy Beane. So Bradford found himself there, in front of the largest crowd the Oakland A’s has ever seen, with the chance to make history. Unfortunately, Chad didn’t have his best stuff that day, and the Milwaukee Brewers tied the game at 11-11 going into the bottom of the ninth and possibly the A’s last chance to end it.

The Human Element

Hatteberg hadn’t even planned on stepping foot on the field that night when he was called on to pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth. He stepped to the plate confidently and delivered a blow over the right center field fence that would be remembered forever. The A’s now held the American League record for most consecutive games won in a season. Hatteberg didn’t do it, he claimed–the Oakland A’s did it.

The Speed of the Idea

The A’s finished the 2002 season winning 103 games, surpassing the goal of 95 and matching the New York Yankees, also with 103. Like all success, it didn’t go unnoticed. Even though it did manage to remain a secret somehow for much longer than it should have. Billy Beane was then the most sought after and valued GM in all of professional baseball. He was offered an extremely high paying job by the Red Sox, which he turned down to stay with the A’s and keep to his promise of never doing anything just for the money ever again.

The Video Lounge

The following video titled “Moneyball – New Way of Thinking” contains many references from both the book and the movie “Moneyball”. Interviews are shown from author Michael Lewis, actor Brad Pitt, and even Oakland A’s manager himself, Billy Beane. It is a quick 2-minute breakdown of the inspiring true story of a team overcoming all odds (actually quite the opposite) and becoming successful in an unfair game of money and resources.

Personal Insights

Why I think:

• The author is one of the most brilliant people around…or is full of $%&#, because:

I view Michael Lewis as a very brilliant man for writing this book. He found a story that interested him and went with it. He seems to have let himself become engulfed within the sport of baseball and the statistics surrounding it. Comparing the management of a baseball team to other, more traditional business makes so much sense to me.

• With business conditions today, what the author wrote is – or is no longer true – because:

What Lewis wrote about in Moneyball will, without a doubt, remain relevant in the business world for a very long time. His story tells a prime example of management at it’s absolute best. Companies will always be searching for ways to succeed in the most negative of conditions. In my opinion, the need for differentiation and thinking outside the box will never cease to exist in our world.

• If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:

1.    I would have tried to come up with ideas and strategies of my own instead of just writing about pre-existing ones. I don’t think I would have been able to resist the temptation, actually.

2.    I would have studied the more traditional strategies of other general managers around the league to better compare and contrast with those of Billy Bean and the Oakland A’s. It would have given the reader a much better understanding of the average GM as an individual and how he or she typically handles various situations.

3.    I would have attempted to give the players a little more credit for the team’s success than Lewis’ point of view exhibited. The players should have received more credit for embracing their productive attributes that most scouts and baseball enthusiasts rendered meaningless.

• Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

1.    Before I read Moneyball, I had honestly never even thought of a sports team as a company that needed to be run and managed so strategically and precisely. You would never think that something a simple as a game played on some dirt and grass would require so much though and decision making.

2.    I realized that no matter how efficient and correct something is thought to be, there is always room for improvement. New ideas should always be accepted and given a chance before being ruled out, no matter how crazy or radical they may seem at first.

3.    Probability is one of the greatest indicators of the future that we have. It is impossible to predict the future, but we can always make the best guess possible by using probabilities and anticipate what is most likely to come.

• I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

1.    I will look at change as a positive thing from now on. Change is an essential factor in everyone’s lives that, in most cases, cannot be prevented, delayed, or altered. The best managers accept change and adapt to it accordingly.

2.    Within my career, I will find a passion in something—anything—and just go with it. I love what the people involved in this story made out of a simple idea. They transformed the game of baseball just because they found such an interest in the game and its statistical flaws, and couldn’t resist but to exploit the possibilities.

3.    I plan on planning more efficiently (starting with that sentence, obviously). Without a solid plan and proper discipline to follow by said plan, managers would spend countless hours wasted bouncing back and forth from path to path, accomplishing next to nothing.   

• Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and its author:

“What others (scholarly and magazine reviews – along with on-line reviews – not simply reviews off the back of the book) have said about the book and its author?” Michael Lewis’ Moneyball seems to have had a generally positive response, with one small exception: “The publication of Moneyball triggered a firestorm of criticism from baseball insiders” (Hakes, 2006). Despite those old, cranky scouts Lewis warned us about, reviewers seemed to enjoy the book to a great extend. “As told by Michael Lewis, the story is both fascinating and instructive” (Shughart, 2004). Some critiques were even left with just one final cliffhanger of a question to fight away at their curiosities, “When every team in baseball adopts the new statistical models for player evaluation, will a cash-poor team like the Oakland A’s be able to win very many games?”(Minor, 2003).

Bibliography

Lewis, M. (2003). Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. New York, NY.: W.W. Norton & Company , Inc.

Minor, Kyle. (2003). Review of Moneyball. Retrieved on March 28, 2012, from

http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.selu.edu/stable/4614573?&Search=yes&searchText=Moneyball&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DMoneyball%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=3&ttl=35&returnArticleService=showFullText

Shughart, William. (2004). Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. Retrieved on March 28, 2012, from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.selu.edu/stable/25151338?&Search=yes&searchText=Moneyball&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DMoneyball%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=2&ttl=35&returnArticleService=showFullText

Hakes, Jahn. (2006). An Economic Evaluation of the Moneyball Hypothesis. Retrieved on March 28, 2012, from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.selu.edu/stable/30033672?&Search=yes&searchText=Moneyball&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DMoneyball%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=1&ttl=35&returnArticleService=showFullText

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Contact Info

To contact the author of this article, “A Management in a Minute Book Overview of Moneyball by Ricky Albin for Practicing and Aspiring Managers” please email r.Albin@selu.edu.

About the Publisher  

David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of his student’s publications regarding:

• management concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)
• book reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and
• international foods  (http://wyldaboutinternationalfoods.blogspot.com/)                                             

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Back at the Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club 

In our last article (read here), we extolled the virtues of our favorite boutique hotel on the water in the charming coastal city of Redondo Beach, in southern California.

The Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club is a special place for those who enjoy the sights and sounds of harbor life and the great blue Pacific.

This time our focus shifts to the BALEEN restaurant 

One reason we like the Portofino Hotel is its outstanding stand-alone marina view restaurant and bar, the BALEEN. As of this writing, their website hasn’t caught up to the recent name change from Baleen Los Angles to just plain BALEEN. The shorter name eliminates some confusion – after all the restaurant is in Redondo Beach.

Sumptuously different food 

The bill of fare at this multi-level restaurant is American eclectic and seafood-centric. The kitchen serves locally sourced epicurean delights and decadent desserts. The unique menu is designed to reflect the seaside location and relaxed atmosphere at the Portofino.

The menu includes such tantalizing dishes as Roasted Sea Scallops & Braised Beef Short Ribs, Cane Sugar Seared Ahi Tuna with Coconut Rice, BALEEN Bouillabaisse, and “Sugar & Spice” Pork Chop with House-made Apple Sauce – all mouth-watering delicious! This food is all about impressive harmony. 

Maybe it’s because Executive Chef Jesse Souza is a native New Englander, but there is something “different” about his blends and seasoning that is unique to his kitchen – and we mean “different” in a most excellent way. 

Chef Souza’s 17-years of culinary experience really shines through with his highly creative presentations that are designed to excite and delight the most discriminating palates.

He is also something of a culinary risk-taker. Be sure to try the BLT salad, Duck Carnitas, Ahi Tuna Tartare, and if available, try the Lobster Mac and Cheese – really! 

The BALEEN also boasts a deep wine list for perfect pairing with an inspired meal. 

The morning after  

Breakfast is served in the lower level of the building just steps away from the undulating boats in the tranquil marina. 

You can watch the orange Garibaldi  fish poking at the barnacle-encrusted rocks along the seawall as you wait for your perfectly prepared Eggs Benedict or Huevos Rancheros to arrive.

Many mornings, the rising sun permits a comfortable meal at one of the restaurants outside tables. Eggs, salt sea air, and robust coffee – now that’s a breakfast. 

We think the BALEEN is one of the best casually chic restaurants in America. 

We visited and reviewed dozens of elegant Inns and Restaurants in 2011. We are pleased to designate Chef Souza’s BALEEN the “Best Restaurant for 2011” and award the Portofino Inn and Yacht Club our “Best Boutique Hotel for 2011.” 

If you go  

The website for the Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club is http://www.hotelportofino.com/  For reservations call toll-free 800.468.4292. Click here for the BALEEN tab on their website. 

Click here to see our entire photo gallery of the Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club and Redondo Beach.
Happy travels!

© Travels with Wayne and Judy Bayliff

Photos © Wayne and Judy Bayliff

You can see the world with Google Maps. www.maps.google.com

Image via Wikipedia

Many individuals would think that Bormio, Italy is one of the most attractive ski resorts worldwide.  It has earned its historic status as a medieval spa town; however, some skiers would find the place bewildering. This old town is a melange of cobbled streets and ancient plazas.  There are guided tours that start from the Piazza Cavour. A 3km trip by bus or cab heads to the Bagni Vecchi, Roman and medieval baths available the public and also provides a vast range of on-site treatments.

There are limited ski slopes -somewhat inconveniently divided in two split up areas on opposite areas of the town. A snowboard area would be difficult to find. Snow cover is poor on the lower mountains which causes queues for the return leg.  Bormio is a place that is visited for its beauty; less for its athletic purposes.  It is a town that will be most appealing to first-timers and tourist families searching to do as much culture as skiing.

On Piste

The concentration of Bormio’s skiing area is the web of red and blue runs going north-west back to town from Cima Bianca which is accessible by the new gondola departing from town via Bormio 2000. The most renowned of these – the Pista Stelvio – is reserved for annual winter competitions, but if accessible forms a steep, long red having good views everywhere. Many of the reds in this area are steeper than usual, and their upper exposure grant winds to whiplash into icy trails closer to black runs.

A long blue run is also available which leads all the way from Cima Bianca back to town (via a quick stretch of red at Ciuk, 1,620m), whilst again the initial leg is not for novices under poor conditions. Beginners may enjoy the slopes at Valdidentro, a quick bus ride outside town but all the more hushed for it, with a range having much less intimidating red and blue runs accessible by lifts at Oga (1,535m) and Le Motte (1,430m).

Hardcore skiers, however, may not find many options here. Bormio’s handful of bonus black runs are merely that. A fair measure of off-piste can be found in good conditions, but advanced skiers searching for a diversity of challenging slopes may be better off some place else.

It just doesn’t add up!

Let us start then at the start of season 1997/98. The previous League campaign had saw Rangers win the title for the 9th time in a row. In an attempt to retain the title in season 1997/98 Walter Smith went continental, bringing in Stale Stensaas, Lorenzo Amoruso, Sergio Porrini, Marco Negri, Tony Vidmar, Jonas Tern, Rino Gattuso, Antti Niemi and Jonatan Johansson. He also brought back Richard Gough to the club in October. By the end of the season though Rangers failed to win the League and the times were a changing. By the time Walter Smith left Rangers as manager, to be replaced by Dick Advocaat, players like Paul Gascoigne, Ally McCoist, Andy Goram, Stuart McCall, Richard Gough, Brian Laudrup, Ian Durrant and Joachim Bjorklund had also left the club. Anyone with any knowledge of Scottish football will know that that last list of players had been influential to Rangers during the 9-in-a-row period. 

Season 1998/99 had not even started before new manager Dick Advocaat started to splash the cash. Arthur Numan, Gabriel Amato, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, Andrei Kanchelskis, Lionel Charbonnier, Rod Wallace, Daniel Prodan, Colin Hendry, Stephane Guivarch, Neil McCann, Stefan Klose and Claudio Reyna were just some of the players that Dick Advocaat splashed out on during his first year as Rangers manager. 

And that was still before season 1999/2000 – before Rangers started to use Employment Benefit Trusts!

If it is a fact that the first season Rangers made use of any Employment Benefit Trusts was season 1999/00 then NONE of the above named players signed by Rangers in the previous two seasons, at the point of originally signing their contacts, took advantage of any Employment Benefit Trusts.

And yet, time and time again there are those, whose persuasions lie elsewhere, who are adamant that Rangers cheated their way to 9-in-a-row and that the Treble won by Dick Advocaat in his first season as manager was won by illicit means.

It just doesn’t add up!

If we then consider that any player signed by Rangers prior to season 1999/00 did not benefit in any way from Employment Benefit Trusts, we only then have to look at what happened from that point forward to get a better idea of what was really going on.

Today’s issue of the Daily Record contains all the information about what they call ‘The EBT Years’ – starting from the year 2000 until 2010 they list every player that Rangers signed and how much they cost. What they don’t mention though was how much money Rangers brought in from selling players over the same period. So here are the total figures for those seasons.

• 1999/2000 Players In: £5.6 million Players Out: £9.05 million
• 2000/2001 Players In: £30.9 million Players Out: £4.2 million
• 2001/2002 Players In: £11.2 million Players Out: £21.575 million
• 2002/2003 Players In: £6 million Players Out: £6.75 million
• 2003/2004 Players In: £1.12 million Players Out: £10.4 million
• 2004/2005 Players In: £8.45 million Players Out: £10.825 million
• 2005/2006 Players In: £1.4 million Players Out: £0.75 million
• 2006/2007 Players In: £6.025 million Players Out: £3.3 million
• 2007/2008 Players In: £10.32 million Players Out: £9 million
• 2008/2009 Players In: £17.8 million Players Out: £12.3 million
• 2009/2010 Players In: £0.00 million Players Out: £4.3 million

Looking at the transfer fees paid and received for players over the period that Rangers made use of Employment Benefit Trusts a story starts to reveal itself. Only one of those seasons really stands out where expenditure far outweighed income, in terms of purchasing players – 2000/2001 – the season that Dick Advocaat went ‘crazy’ and signed, amongst others, Tore Andre Flo for £12 million, Bert Konterman for £4.3 million, Fernando Ricksen for £3.6 million and Ronald De Boer for £4.5 million. Having said that though, if one was to look at the bigger picture, over that 11 season period Rangers spent £98.815 million on players and brought in £92.45 million selling players.

For a club, over an 11 year period, to make a loss of just over £6 million in transfers is very reasonable – sometimes the value of a player may increase when he hits his peak, but it is just as likely to depreciate too! Over the same period of time, just for comparative purposes only, Celtic spent less on players coming in but brought in a lot less money for outgoing players – in fact the transfer deficit over the same period was over 4 times that of Rangers! Such a comparison is really neither here nor there though.
While transfer fees paid and received for players may highlight the financial clout of a club in some respects, it is the wage the club pays that really affects the cash flow. The over spending of Dick Advocaat from his second season onwards saw the wages at Rangers rocket and perhaps that is why they started using the Employment Benefit Trusts. But in more recent years, surely, Rangers have done all that they can to reduce their wage bill. So where has all the money gone?

It just doesn’t add up!

Over the 11 season period that the Daily Record claimed as ‘The EBT Years’ Rangers transfer deficit was only £6 million. Murray Park was built in summer of 2001 at a cost of £14 million. Despite using the Employment Benefit Trusts, the wages at Rangers had spiralled out of control, because of which and other things, not so long ago their debt stood at over £70 million, but that, apparently, was reduced to a more manageable £18 million by reducing costs (especially wages) and that was the case when Craig Whyte took on ownership of Rangers.

The threat of a ‘tax bill’ from HMRC has been hanging over the club for a number of years, of that there is no doubt. But the very moment that Craig Whyte came in as owner and declared the club debt free surely things were going to be all rosy at Ibrox! Nine months on from that Rangers are in administration. And the HMRC ‘tax bill’ case has still not been decided. To make matters worse, it appears that Craig Whyte has ‘mortgaged’ off future season ticket money to the value of £24.4 million.

It just doesn’t add up!

Setting aside a potential £50 million ‘tax bill’ as it is still an outstanding matter, how can a football club who have reduced their debt from £70 million to £18 million, then bring in £24.4 million from mortgaging off future season ticket sales not be in a position to avoid going in to administration?

It just doesn’t add up!

Perhaps pushing Rangers in to administration was something that Craig Whyte always intended to do but that just raises more questions than it answers. If administration was something that he wanted then he must be sure that Rangers are going to lose their case against HMRC because if Craig Whyte thought Rangers had any chance of winning their case against HMRC then administration would not even be on the table.
Something about the whole scenario at Rangers just doesn’t quite add up, but it will certainly be interesting to see what the future holds!

Who knows what the future hold for the institution that is (and hopefully remains) Rangers Football Club. 140 years ago a group of men got together and Rangers Football Club were formed – it didn’t take long for them to stamp their authority on the game. Now they have been plunged in to administration and no one knows how the future will pan out. Follow follow!

1. Runner’s rump. This embarrassing affliction is caused by jogging and long-distance running. You’ll find redness and soreness (and possible swelling) in between the buttocks caused by the constant friction between the buttocks when running or jogging. You might also experience redness and raw skin on your upper thighs and groin area. This can be caused by your pants rubbing against the skin. Runner’s rump will disappear by itself in a day or two if you’ll cut back on the running for a few days. If your pants are the problem, consider buying some of the silky, nylon running shorts or some Lycra leggings to run in.  These fabrics are not as rough or coarse as some other fabrics and might be easier on your skin.
2. Jogger’s nipples. This is another embarrassing ailment that plagues runners. This can happen to almost anyone who jogs, but it is more common in long-distance and marathon runners. Jogger’s nipples result from the rubbing of the nipples against coarse fabric for long periods of time. The problem can be as simple as mild irritation or as serious as actual hemorrhaging. If your case is serious, you need to see your doctor. Otherwise, most cases of jogger’s nipples will go away if you’ll take a few days off the running schedule. To avoid this problem, put some good lotion or tape on the affected areas before running. Men should try to avoid shirts made from rough fabrics. Wear soft cotton or silky nylon shirts to cut down on the friction and irritation. Women should buy proper sports bras made with soft fabric. Make sure the bra fits correctly to avoid the bra shifting and moving while you are running.
3. Surfer’s nodules. These are small tumor-like bumps that appear on your kneecaps, shin bones or ankles where your skin comes into contact with the surfboard. The nodules are your body’s attempts to heal damaged tissues. Stay away from the surfboard for a while to let them heal.
4. Black palm. Golfers, tennis players, basketball buffs and weightlifters all have this kind of problem from time to time. Black palm is just what it sounds like — a bluish-black discoloration of the palm of the hand. In other words, the palm of your hand looks like one huge bruise. This results from sudden, choppy movements that rip and tear the delicate blood vessels in your palm. Just like a bruise, these will go away over time on their own. To avoid this problem in the future, weightlifters should consider buying some padded gloves to help cushion their hands. Golfers and tennis players can use athletic gloves (like batting gloves used in baseball).
5. Tennis and skier’s toe. This painful ailment is the bruising and discoloration of the big toe due to repeated and sudden starts and stops that jam the big toe into the front of the shoe. Joggers and racquetball players also have this problem occasionally.

For relief, soak your feet in warm water after your activity, then get off your feet. Take a pain reliever (aspirin or acetaminophen) if the pain is too bad.

To avoid this problem, keep your toenails trimmed and wear properly fitting shoes.

Sporting shoe salespeople can help you pick out a shoe for your activity that fits you properly.

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I also have links to my other articles through my blogs: Sharing my Thoughts 

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As a growing number of snowboarding and skiing enthusiasts are trying out the thrills of powdery snow in off-piste areas.  The excitement of off-piste skiing and snowboarding is no longer reserved to experts and deviants; today, most everybody in the snowsport hobby wants to try it.

Skiing and snowboarding in untracked powder is an opportunity to be enjoyed, but it is also filled the kinds of dangers that on-piste skiers never have to encounter. Most common among these is that most dreadful of all ski-related catastrophes, the avalanche.  The Alps alone, takes about a hundred lives yearly on the average. Not astonishingly, almost all of the deaths occur to those skiing and boarding out-of-bounds or backcountry, yet on occasions disastrous accidents could happen within a snowball’s distance of safety. You may think that skiing a couple of meters off the piste is as safe instead of being on it, yet shortly after you go off-piste, you are responsible for your own safety, whether you are two meters or two kilometers away from the monitored runs.

 If you intend to steer off-piste, the most important matter to do is employ a guide, no matter how confident you are. Only a local guide will recognize all the dangers innate in their own ski mountain area, from drop-offs and gullies to avalanche zones. They could also be able to escort you to the best powder. Unfortunately, though, a lot like ski schools, ski guides may vary across the board.  It would be best if you have a personal recommendation.

More about this topic:

How to Survive Skiing and Snowboarding Off-Piste

Since 1950 though international football has certainly become more and more, how shall I put it, international and even without qualifying for the major tournaments there can easily be 10 international matches a year. One could make the case then that it is now more rare for a player to only pick up one cap – the theory being that if they are good enough to play for Scotland once then they are good enough to play more than once, especially with the sheer number of games in a year. And yet there are a total of 60 players who, since 1950, have played once and once only for the Scotland national football team. The first 20 have already been covered HERE, so here are the next 20.

1. Ronnie Glavin – Midfielder Ronnie Glavin made his name at Partick Thistle before moving to Celtic. On leaving Celtic Ronnie Glavin joined Barnsley in 1979 before leaving in 1984 to ply his trade at Potrugese team Belenenses but returned to Barnsley within the year. Ronnie Glavin then played for Stockport before finishing his playing career with Cowdenbeath. His one and only Scotland cap came during his time at Celtic when he played in a friendly against Sweden.
2. Steven Hammell – Left back Steven Hammell first broke in to the Motherwell team in 1999 and stayed until 2006 when he joined Southend United. Within two years he was back at Motherwell where he still plays. His one and only Scotland cap came in 2004 in a match against Sweden when Tommy Burns was caretaker manager. Perhaps he might still add to his cap collection!
3. Mike Haughney – Right back Mike Haughney played for Celtic between 1949 and 1957 and won his one and only Scotland cap in a match against England in 1954.
4. Stewart Houston – Left back Stewart Houston started his career at Chelsea in 1967 before moving on to Brentford in 1972. A year later he signed for Manchester United where he stayed until 1980, playing over 200 league games. On leaving Manchester United Stewart Houston had spells at Sheffield United and Colchester United. His Scotland cap came in 1975 in a match against Denmark.
5. Billy Hughes – Forward Billy Hughes spent the first 11 years of his footballing career at Sunderland, during which time he was selected by Scotland to play against Sweden in 1975. On leaving Sunderland he played at Derby County for one season before joining Leicester City. A loan deal at Carlisle United followed before he called time on his football career after playing a game for San Jose Earthquakes.
6. Wilson Humphries – Inside forward Wilson Humphries spent the first decade of his career with Motherwell and his one and only cap for Scotland, in a match against Sweden, came on the back of Motherwell winning the Scottish Cup. On leaving Motherwell Wilson Humphries had spells at St Mirren, Dundee United and Hamilton Academical.
7.  Hugh Kelly – Defender Hugh Kelly spent his whole career at Blackpool, playing in a total of 428 league games. His one and only Scotland cap came in 1952 when he was selected to play against the United States.
8. John Kennedy – Centre back John Kennedy was tipped for big massive things when he broke in to the Celtic team and he soon received a call up to the national team. He made his Scotland debut in 2004 in a match against Romania but was the victim of a tackle (assault) that severely injured him and eventually forced him to retire in 2009!
9. John Little – Defender John Little started his career at Queen’s Park before moving on to Rangers in 1951. Over the next 11 years John Little played nearly 300 games for Rangers but somehow was only picked for Scotland once, in a match against Sweden in 1953. He moved from Rangers to Morton where he finished his playing career.
10. Jimmy Logie – Inside forward Jimmy Logie played for Arsenal from 1939 until 1955, appearing in 296 league games and scoring 68 goals. His one and only Scotland cap came in 1952 in a match against Northern Ireland.
11. Jamie McAllister – Defender Jamie McAllister started his career at Queen of the South before signing for Aberdeen. He then moved on to Livingston and was capped by Berti Vogts in a match against Trinidad & Tobago. Big things were tipped for Jamie McAllister at that point and he soon joined Hearts. Two year later he moved to Bristol City where he still plays but has not been near the Scotland set up!
12. Alex MacDonald – Midfielder Alex MacDonald spent the first two years of his career at St Johnstone before signing on at Rangers in 1968. He stayed at Rangers untill 1980, playing 503 matches and scoring 94 goals – even winning the Cup Winners Cup. International honours though were rare! So rare in fact that he made only one appearance for Scotland in a match against Switzerland in 1976. He wound down his career playing for Hearts until 1985.
13. Bobby McKean – If the injury to John Kennedy curtailed his Scotland career, spare a thought for midfielder Bobby McKean. After serving his apprenticeship at St Mirren he joined Rangers in 1974. In 1976 he played for Scotland in a 1-0 victory against Switzerland. In 1978, at the age of only 25, Bobby McKean died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
14. Andy McLaren – Left winger Andy McLaren was a player of talent but never really fulfilled his potential. Starting at Dundee United his career took in spells at Reading, Livingston, Kilmarnock, Dundee United (again), Partick Thistle, Greenock Morton, Dundee and Ayr United. His one and only cap came in 2001, while he was a Kilmarnock player, in a match against Poland.
15. Gordon Marshall – Goalkeeper Gordon Marshall started his career at Rangers but never made the first team. Spells at East Stirling, East Fife and Falkirk brought him to the attention of Celtic who bought him in 1991. A year later Gordon Marshall made his one and only Scotland appearance in a 1-0 victory against the USA. He left Celtic in 1998 for Kilmarnock before moving on to Motherwell in 2003. He finished his playing career at Hibs without playing any league games for them!
16. John Martis – Centre half John Martis first broke in to the Motherwell first team in 1957 and played in just under 300 league games before leaving in 1969 to play for East Fife. His one and only Scotland cap came in 1960 in a match against Wales.
17. David Mathers – Left half David Mathers spent over a decade at Partick Thistle before having spells at Oxford United and East Stirling. His one and only cap came in 1954 in a World Cup warm up match against Finland.
18. Charlie Miller – Midfielder Charlie Miller started his career at Rangers in 1993 and left in 1999 to sign for Watford. He was soon back in Scotland though when Dundee United bought him in 2000. After leaving Dundee United 3 years later Charlie Miller had spells at SK Brann, Lierse, Brisbane Roar and Gold Coast United before returning to Scotland to finish his career at Clyde. His one and only cap came during his time at Dundee United in a match against Poland in 2001.
19. Willie Moir – Forward Willie Moir played ten years at Bolton Wanderers before joining Stockport County in 1955. His one and only taste of international football came in 1950 when he was selected to play against England.
20. Steve Murray – Midfielder Steve Murray played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Celtic and Dundee United in a 17 year career. The highlight of which was his one and only Scotland appearance while an Aberdeen player in a match against Belgium.

Since 1950 though international football has certainly become more and more international and there are many matches to be played every single year. One would presume then that it is now more rare for a player to only pick up one cap – the theory being that if they are good enough to play for Scotland once then they are good enough to play more than once. And yet there are a total of 60 players who, since 1950, have played once and once only for the Scotland national football team. Here are the first 20.

1. John Anderson – Goalkeeper John Anderson moved from junior side Arthurlie to Leicester City in 1948 and made over 250 league appearances over the next 11 years. His one and only Scotland cap came in some warm up matches for the 1954 World Cup.
2. Hugh Baird – Centre forward Hugh Baird, then a Airdieonians player, played his one and only game for Scotland in 1956 in a home match against Austria, although his cap for the match wasn’t awarded until 2006!
3. Des Bremner – Midfielder Des Bremner started his professional career at Hibernian and later went on to play for both Aston Villa and Birmingham. He won the European Cup while at Aston Villa but his one and only taste of international football came while at Hibs when he was capped against Switzerland in 1976.
4. Jim Brown – Goalkeeper Jim Brown started his career at Albion Rovers before going on to play for Chesterfield, Sheffield United, Detroit Express, Washington Diplomats, Chicago Sting, Cardiff City and Kettering Town. He finished his playing career back at Chesterfield and has been their commerical manager since 1986. His one and only Scotland cap came in 1975 while he was at Sheffield United.
5. Francis Burns – Left back Francis Burns started his career at Manchester United before plying his trade at Southampton, Preston North End and Shamrock Rovers. He made his one and only Scotland appearance in 1969, while a Manchester United player, against Austria.
6. Peter Canero – Midfielder Peter Canero was tipped for big things when he first broke through at Kilmarnock. He was eventually sold to Leicester City and he won his one and only Scotland cap in 2004. It didn’t work out too well for Peter Canero in England and he came back to play briefly for Dundee United before signing for the New York Red Bulls but he retired from football in 2006 at the age of 25 because of injury.
7. Alfie Conn Sr – In a 14 year career with Hearts, Alfie Conn Sr. scored 115 league goals in 223 matches. During his time at Hearts he picked up his one and only Scotland cap in a match against Austria where his goal secured a 1-1 draw. In 1958 Alfie Conn Sr. moved to Raith Rovers before moving on to Johannesburg Ramblers!
8. John Connolly – Outside left John Connolly started his career with St Johnstone in 1968 before moving to Everton in 1972. Four years on Merseyside was followed by spells at Birmingham City, Newcastle and Hibs. It was during his time at Everton that John Connolly was capped for Scotland against Switzerland.
9. Jim Craig – Right Back Jim Craig finished his career at Waterford after having brief spells at Sheffield Wednesdat and Hellenic FC, but it was at his first club Celtic that he enjoyed his finest football moment when he was part of the team that won the European Cup. Despite that Jim Craig was only capped once by Scotland in a match  against Wales in 1967.
10. Joe Craig – Striker Joe Craig spent four years at Partick Thistle before signing for Celtic in 1976. During his two years at Celtic Joe Craig was selected for Scotland against Sweden in a match he scored without having kicked the ball! (He scored a header two minutes after coming on as a substitute) After leaving Celtic Joe Craig had spells at Blackburn Rovers and Hamilton Academical.
11. Tommy Craig – Midfielder Tommy Craig started his career in 1967 with Aberdeen before moving down South to play for Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Swansea City and Carlisle United. He finished his career back in Scotland with Hibs. It was during his days at Newcastle United that Tommy Craig won his one and only Scotland cap in a match against Switzerland.
12. Michael Cullen – Winger Michael Cullen was only 17 when he signed for Luton in 1948. During his time at Luton he was capped for Scotland in a match against Austria in 1956. Interestingly it was the same match that would also see Hugh Baird and Alfie Conn Sr. win their only Scotland caps! After leaving Luton, Michael Cullen went on to play for Grimsby Town and Derby County.
13. Warren Cummings – Defender Warren Cummings was a Chelsea player who never made it to the first team. In his 3 years as a Chelsea player he was loaned out to Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albion twice, Dundee United and Bournemouth again, before he eventually signed for Bournemouth where he still currently plays. His one and only taste of international football came when Berti Vogts selected him for a match against Hong Kong!
14. John Dick – Inside left John Dick spend a decade at West Ham United from 1953 to 1962. During which time he was selected to play for Scotland against England in 1959. He wound down his career at Brentford.
15. Bobby Dougan – Centre Half Bobby Dougan spent his career playing for Hearts and then Kilmarnock. He won his one and only Scotland cap in a friendly match against Switzerland in 1950.
16. Johnny Doyle – Winger Johnny Doyle started his career at Ayr United in 1970, playing 155 league games before joining Celtic in 1976 where he spent 5 years before retiring from the game. As odd as it may seem, his one and only Scotland cap came during his Ayr United days when he was picked to play against Romania in 1975.
17. Charlie Fleming  - Striker Charlie Fleming broke in to the East Fife team in 1947 and in the following 8 seasons he scored 117 league goals in 173 games. He later moved to Sunderland for 3 years before spending the rest of his career playing for Bath City. His one and only Scotland cap came during his East Fife days when he was picked against Northern Ireland in 1953 – scoring two goals!
18. James Forrest – Outside right James Forrest started his career at the age of 22 in 1949 and spent the next 11 years at Motherwell before finishing his career with a couple of seasons at Stenhousemuir. During his Motherwell days he was capped for Scotland in a 4-0 defeat to England.
19. Paul Gallagher – Striker and sometime winger Paul Gallagher made the break through at Blackburn Rovers in 2002. Between 2005 and 2009 he spent time on loan at Stoke City, Preston North End, Stoke City (again) and Plymouth Argyle before Leicester City signed him permanently. In 2004 Berti Vogts capped him in a match against Wales.
20. Stephen Glass – Midfielder Stephen Glass made the breakthrough at Aberdeen in 1994 and was bought by Newcastle United in 1998. The same year he made his one and only appearance in a Scotland jersey in a match against the Faroe Islands. He left Newcastle United in 2002 and went on to play for Watford, Hibs, Dunfermline and the Carolina RailHawks. Stephen Glass is currently assistant manager at Shamrock Rovers.