Yank Football

[KukriKhan]

Starts today!

Go New England!

[Beirut]

Go Cowboys!

(Actually, I have zero interest in footbal. But my buddy goes for the Cowboys the way junkies go for smack.)

So go Cowboys!

[Devastatin Dave]

LOL, did you guys see the look on Payton Mannings face when they couldn't hit that field goal!!! Classic!!! That was one pissed of QB!!! Being from Atlanta, and having to go through year after year of sh#tty teams in the GA dome, I can barely stomach football. The Falcons? Vick's nothing more than a fragile Kordell Stewart.

[KukriKhan]

LOL, did you guys see the look on Payton Mannings face when they couldn't hit that field goal!!! Classic!!! That was one pissed of QB!!! Being from Atlanta, and having to go through year after year of sh#tty teams in the GA dome, I can barely stomach football. The Falcons? Vick's nothing more than a fragile Kordell Stewart.

I hear ya, re: hopeless teams. I grew up in Detroit, and even tho' I know better, every year I let the Lions break my heart.

[Chimpyang]

Anyone care to give a link/explain the rules of yank football? i have never gotten it (I live in Uk so tht may just be it)

[KukriKhan]

This will get you started, m8:

http://www.playfootball.com/footballfacts/basics.html

A Brit friend of mine explained yank football as: "Take rugby, + 'the forward pass', + lots of padding, + lawyers/rule-makers = NFL". LoL.

[Devastatin Dave]

Anyone care to give a link/explain the rules of yank football? i have never gotten it (I live in Uk so tht may just be it)

Only if you care to explain Cricket!!! It looks like an awesome game, I love baseball, but Cricket seems almost impossible to understand. Do you have any links to the rules? Thanks!!!
http://www.football.com/rulesandinfo.shtml
And if all else fails...

http://www.stsent.com/_football/dummies.htm

A friend of mine got it for her husband. She loved football and he had a hard time following it. The more you know, the better you can enjoy the sport.

[Chimpyang]

Alrite thebn you're on
Cricket is extremely complex with the number of terms but i' had a dig around and found the fo9llowing site which will probably help.

LINK

i'm afraid it aint terribly exciting to look at (the site). This page may be easier to understand thoh but it's not AS in depth

LINK to BBC page

If you can...watch some of the ICC Champion's trophy.........and some 20 20 too....they're ther more exciting forms of it.....test matches take 5 days to finish (usually) so you have to be quite into it.

Well have fun reading and thanks for your links..
Ang

[Chimpyang]

For those who cant be botehred to clikc the link i'll post it all here :


(FROM BBC WEBSITE)

Cricket is played between two teams who each get a chance to bat and bowl.

When they bat a batsman is in until he’s out. When he’s out the next batsman comes in until he’s out.

When all the batsmen are out, the team is all out, apart from one batsman who is not out.

The team that were fielding then go into bat until they are all out and it is a case of the team who scored the most being the winner.

The aim
The aim of cricket is to score more runs than the opposition.

But the game is played in two different formats and in some games it is possible to get a draw even if you don’t score as many runs as the opposition.

That occurs only in the longer format of the game, played over anything between two and five days, when both teams have two innings.

If the team batting last are not bowled out then they can still draw the match if they have not scored as many runs as their opponents.

The game is played on a large field, although most of the action takes place on a specially prepared area, known as the pitch or the wicket.

At opposite ends of the pitch are the wickets or stumps which the batsmen have to protect.

Players
Cricket is played between two teams of 11 players.

The fielding team have all 11 players on the pitch at the same time.

Nine members of the fielding team can be positioned around the pitch at the discretion of the captain, while one serves as the wicketkeeper and the other is the bowler.

The bowler delivers the ball, overarm, with the aim being to get the batsmen out. Two batsmen bat at any one time, standing at opposite ends of the pitch.

The batsman facing the bowler is described as being ‘on strike’. One run is scored each time the batsmen cross and reach the crease at the opposite end from which they started.

Although all 11 players have the opportunity to bat, the team are deemed to be ‘all out’ when ten wickets have fallen as the ‘not out’ batsman is left without a team-mate at the other end of the wicket.

A team does not have to be all out for an innings to close.

If a captain feels that his team has scored enough runs then he can bring the innings to a close by what is called a declaration.

IT’S A FACT: Teams also have a 12th man who acts as a substitute fielder if one of the first XI are injured. The 12th man is not allowed to bat or bowl though.

The ball
A cricket ball is made of cork and encased in red leather.

The leather is then stitched together around the centre, this area being called the seam.

This seam is slightly raised so top bowlers aim to make this area hit the pitch when it bounces and hope that this will make the ball change direction and as such cause problems for the batsman.

With the advent of coloured clothing in one-day matches a white ball is often used.

Umpires
Two umpires officiate on the game from out on the field of play, but at international level there is also a third umpire on the sidelines and a match referee.

One umpire stands behind the stumps at the bowler’s end of the pitch, while the other umpire stands at square leg.

The former rules on lbw decisions, no-balls, wides and leg byes, while the latter assists with stumpings and run outs and may help on the question of whether a catch has carried or not if there is uncertainty.

The batsmen should be given any benefit of doubt.

The umpires change position at the end of each over.

A batsman is only given out if done so by an umpire following an appeal from the fielding side or if the batsman voluntarily leaves the crease believing he is out under the Laws of the game.

If a batsman stands his ground and no appeal is made by the fielding side then he should not be given out by an umpire, even if he should be out under the Laws of the game.

The umpires indicate no-balls, byes, leg-byes, wides and boundaries to the scorers, who are responsible for keeping a running total of the runs scored.

The third umpire can make use of video evidence to rule on run outs, stumpings, whether a ball has hit the ground before being caught or when it is unclear if the ball has crossed the boundary or not.

However, the third umpire can only rule if the decision is referred to him by the umpires out on the pitch.

The match referee rules on disciplinary matters.

If a player shows dissent at a decision then the match referee usually takes action in the form of a fine against the player in question.

The start
The two captains toss a coin for the right to choose whether to bat or bowl first.

The captain winning the toss will then take a number of things into consideration such as the pitch and weather conditions and the form of his side.

Play changes end after each over. An over is a series of six legitimate deliveries bowled by one bowler.

When an over is completed play switches to the other end and continues like this throughout the game.

Duration
A match will normally be played with each side having one innings on a limited over basis or with both sides batting twice in a game played over a number of days.

Test matches are contested over five days, while County Championship matches in England are played over four days.

Limited over cricket involves both sides receiving the same amount of deliveries to score their runs from, with the winner being the team that scores the most.

In many first class competitions each side will receive up to 50 overs, but in schools cricket it is normally greatly reduced.

However, if for example a team is bowled out after 40 overs in a 50 over match, the other team still has the full 50 overs in which to beat their score.

Play in Test matches is usually split into three two hour sessions, although a minimum number of overs to be bowled in a day is also usually agreed between the sides before a series begins.

A forty minute lunch break is taken between the first two sessions of a day’s play, with 20 minutes being allowed for tea after the end of the second session.

Pitch and weather conditions
On a humid overcast day the ball is more likely to deviate in the air or ‘swing’ as it is known.

Those sort of conditions are most commonly found in the more temperate climates of England and New Zealand.

‘Greener’ wickets with more grass on and a more moist surface are found in such countries and they favour the quicker bowlers as they assist movement off the seam.

The aim for the bowler is to try and keep the seam of the ball in as upright a position as possible so that it gains maximum contact with the wicket when it pitches.

The friction of the seam in contact with the wicket generates what is termed ‘movement off the seam’.

Drier pitches, found in India and Pakistan are far more helpful to spin bowlers. The pace of such pitches is far slower, giving a spinning ball more time to grip and ‘turn off the pitch’.

But on these surfaces the bounce of the ball is far more inconsistent.

Play will be stopped in the event of rain or bad light which may make batting conditions dangerous.

itch dimensions
The size of the field on which the game is played varies from ground to ground but the pitch is always a rectangular area of 22 yards (20.12m) in length and 10ft (3.05m) in width.

The popping (batting) crease is marked 1.22m in front of the stumps at either end, with the stumps set along what is termed the bowling crease.

The return creases are marked at right angles to the popping and bowling creases and are measured 1.32m either side of the middle stumps.

The two sets of wickets positioned at opposite ends of the pitch stand 71.1cm high and three stumps measure 22.86 cm wide in total.

Made out of willow the stumps have two bails on top and the wicket is only broken if at least one bail is removed.

If the ball hits the wicket but without sufficient force to dislodge a bail then the batsman is not out.


The WICKET :





Scoring (RUNS)

Runs off the bat (1,2,3)
The most common way of scoring runs is by either batsman hitting the ball and then running between the wickets.

The two batsmen have to change ends, each grounding their bat beyond the crease at the end that they are running to.

If in the process of turning to go for another run either batsman fails to ground his bat then a ‘run short’ is signalled by the umpire.

This knocks a run off the score and is signalled by the umpire touching one shoulder with the hand of the same arm.

Four runs
A delivery that is hit to the boundary, either along the ground or bouncing at least once before crossing the rope, produces four runs for the batting side.

The four is signalled by the umpire waving an arm from side to side, finishing with the arm across the chest.

A "4" :


Six runs
A six is the maximum number of runs that can be scored from one ball.

It is scored when a batsman hits the ball over the boundary rope without the ball bouncing.

The umpire signals a six by outsretching both arms above his head.


A "6"



No-ball
There are several types of no-ball, all of which result in an extra ball being bowled.

The most common one is the foot-fault when a bowler over-steps the popping crease, though having the back foot wider than the return crease would also result in a no-ball.

If a bowler bowls too many intimidating deliveries in one over, he can also be no-balled, so for example three short-pitched deliveries rising above the batsman's shoulders would see the third called a no-ball.

A lot of the penalties for no-balls these days are two runs and they are recorded as extras.

If a batsman still hits a four off the delivery, it counts as six to the score.

A 'no-ball' is signalled by an arm raised at shoulder height.


Byes
A bye is called when a legal delivery passes the stumps without the ball touching either the bat or the batsman's body.

The number of byes scored obviously depends on the number of runs taken.

The signal is one arm stretched high above the body.

A good image of a bye :


Leg byes

Umpires signal a leg bye with a hand touching their raised knee and this is scored when the ball hits the body of the batsman but not the bat.

The ball does not necessarily have to touch the leg to be called a leg bye - it can be any part of the body, except the hand holding the bat.

Leg byes are recorded as extras.

Explanation of a leg bye :


Wides
A wide is called by an umpire with both arms outstretched when the delivery is out of the reach of the batsman and he is unable to play a correct cricket shot.

Umpires are much stricter on wides in the one-day game, particularly with any bowling down the leg side.

The penalty is one run, with another delivery added to that over. Wides also count in the extras column.

Penalty runs
The option to award five penalty runs is a new law that has been brought into the game.

They can be awarded by the umpire in instances such as illegal fielding, time-wasting and fielders damaging the pitch, though warnings would be given first.

But they could be awarded without warning for things like unfairly changing the condition of the ball.

They are treated like extras.

The umpire signals five penalty runs by bringing one arm across his chest and touching his shoulder.

If he taps that shoulder, the penalty runs are awarded to the batting side.

If he simply places the hand there, runs are given to the fielding team.

Getting OUT

Caught
This is the most common way of getting out, when a fielder catches the ball directly off the bat, before it has hit the ground.

The ball does not have to come directly off the bat though.

It can deflect from the pad on to the bat or from the bat on to the pad and still be caught, so long as the fielder takes the ball on the full.

Also if the ball hits the batter on the hand, below the wrist, then you can still be out caught, but it is not possible to be given out caught off a no ball.

When a bowler takes a catch off his/her own bowling it is referred to as being caught and bowled, and when a wicketkeeper takes the catch the batter is deemed to have been caught behind.

If the ball gets caught in a batter’s pads and a fielder removes it and attempts to claim a catch, the umpire should give the batsman ‘not out’ as the ball is deemed a ‘dead ball’.

Bowled
The first part of any batter’s job is to protect the stumps.

But if a bowler manages to get a delivery through the defences of a batter and dislodge the bails, then the dismissal is recorded as having been ‘bowled’.

This form of dismissal is the same whether the ball hits the stumps directly from leaving the bowler’s arm or whether it deflects on to the stumps off the bat or the batter.

But you can not be bowled off a no ball.

Leg before wicket
The leg before wicket (lbw) law is to cricket what the offside rule is to football – confusing to plenty!

The umpire will consider giving a batsman out lbw if he believes that the ball would have hit the stumps if it had not been obstructed by the batter’s pads.

But a number of things have to be taken into account by the umpire.

The batter can not be given out if:
• the ball pitches outside the line of leg stump, regardless of whether or not the ball would hit the stumps.
• the ball hits the bat before striking the pad then the batsman can not be given out.
• the batter is struck on the pad outside the line of off stump, having made a genuine attempt to hit the ball.
• the bowler bowls a no ball.

But the batter can be given out if:
• the batter is struck on the pad in front of the stumps.
• the batter is struck on the pad outside the line of off stump, having not made an attempt to hit the ball.

And now you know why the lbw law causes so much discussion.

Stumped
If a batter ventures down the wicket to meet the ball there is a possibility that he/she can be stumped by the wicketkeeper.

A stumping occurs when the wicketkeeper is able to collect it and dislodge the bails before the batter is able to get their bat or any part of their body grounded behind the batting crease.

Touching the batting crease with the bat or heel of the foot is not good enough to save the batter.

They must have something in contact with the ground behind the crease.

You can’t be stumped off a no ball, but it is possible to be dismissed off a wide.

Run out
Run outs are most frequent in limited over cricket and can happen at either end of the wicket.

A run out happens when the batters in attempt at completing a run or runs are short of the batting crease when the stumps are broken by the fielding team.

These can be very difficult decisions for umpires to adjudicate on and that is why at the highest level the third umpire, who has the benefit of seeing video replays, is often called upon to assist.

Timed out
Because this is not recognised as a very sporting gesture, it is extremely rare that batters are ever ‘timed out’.

But there is a Law that says when a wicket falls, the incoming batter must be in position to face the next ball within three minutes of the wicket falling.

Should this situation arise nobody is given the credit for the dismissal.

Handled the ball
If after playing the ball the batter is worried that it will roll back on to the stumps, he/she can knock the ball away with the bat, feet or pads.

But if they use their hands then they can be given out ‘handled the ball’.

This was the case when England’s Michael Vaughan was dismissed in the third Test against India at Bangalore.

When a batter picks the ball up off the pitch to assist the fielding side it is widely seen as being unsporting to appeal for them to be dismissed for handling the ball.

Double hit
Another extremely rare dismissal but a batter can be given out having hit the ball twice if the second strike is seen as intentional.

However if the second contact is made to assist the fielding side or protect the batter’s wicket then he/she should not be given out.

Hit wicket
This mode of dismissal occurs when the batter either in the process of playing a shot or avoiding the ball disturbs his/her stumps.

This can be with the bat or with the body, but the bowler is still credited with the wicket.

Obstructing the field
The umpire can give a batsman out if he feels that the batsman has intentionally obstructed a member of the fielding side as they attempt to take a catch or effect a run out.

[Chimpyang]

et Voila.....the brief (well it is sort of....) rules of Cricket....

[Hosakawa Tito]

Thanks Chimpyang. Tell me, is cricket more of a sport for the "tea & crumpet crowd", much like tennis and golf, or is it followed by the beer swilling rowdy unwashed masses like football, rugby, baseball, hockey etc...?

[Divine Wind]

Thanks Chimpyang. Tell me, is cricket more of a sport for the "tea & crumpet crowd", much like tennis and golf, or is it followed by the beer swilling rowdy unwashed masses like football, rugby, baseball, hockey etc...?

The sport is pretty much dominated by the "tea and crumpet crowd". Never got into it personally, always enjoyed more active exciting sports.

[Ser Clegane]

I really started to love American Football when I stayed in the US as a highschool student.
I remember being very impressed by "Refrigerator Perry" of the Chicago Bears.

I wonder if the Seahawks will ever make it to the Superbowl (or at least the Conference final)

[Sjakihata]

Im going to watch tonights play

[thrashaholic]

The sport is pretty much dominated by the "tea and crumpet crowd". Never got into it personally, always enjoyed more active exciting sports.

Times are changing now though, soccer fans are starting to discover that you can drink beer all day for five days at cricket matches now, so professional games are 'down-marketing", but it's still largely played by the upper-middle to upper classes, except in the north where they're all working class .

Thanks Chimpyang. Tell me, is cricket more of a sport for the "tea & crumpet crowd", much like tennis and golf, or is it followed by the beer swilling rowdy unwashed masses like football, rugby, baseball, hockey etc...?

A bit OT, but I'd say Rugby (Union) was less of a game for the 'unwashed masses' than soccer is, it's the winter game of choice for most public (very good, old private schools) and private schools and the crowds are very much more middle-class family orientated, much more so than soccer, where the crowds are far more 'common'. This is changing as well though ever since England won the Rugby World Cup, Rugby's becoming more appealling to the soccer crowd.

[Mount Suribachi]

Well, like KukriKahn I'm a Lions fan too Living in Toledo meant that I get to support a legendary Hockey team (the Detroit Redwings, not the Toledo Storm ) and a sucky NFL team. This smiley seems somehow appropriate

Devastatin Dave , get yourself that posting to England and I promise to take you to a cricket game and explain the rules to you. It is a most excellent sport once you get into it

And as for it being for the "tea & crumpets" crowd, that is something of a myth. My home town (very working class) has a midweek league with 9 divisions. My factory has not 1, but 2 works teams. And if you think its all polite & mild mannered, then you've never seen one of your fast bowlers bowl a bouncer then be told by the batsman "do that again and I'll wrap this ****ing bat round yer 'ed!!"

[Chimpyang]

Cricket and Rugby are pretty much tea and crumpet sports......i remeber being on the team that made the U15 Vase Final last year at Twickenham and even though we lost there was one hell of a formal dinner afters. Not somethnig you get from football.

I goto a grammer school and we play both rugby and cricket (winter and summer) i live in Rugby so the winter sport is a foregone conclusion.

You do occasionally get the odd cricket "hooligan", but they're a lot more restrained and should be classified as mad supporter rather than hooligan.
Cricket is a lot more exciting actually playing, having a ball hurtle towards you very quickly has a different feeling to 3/4 very large boys running at you because you've managed to get hold of the rugby ball

(btw if anyone here goes to NSB what was the score against our U16's? i know we lost but what was the score?)

[Kraellin]

kukri,

if we could just get what's his name domino's pizza magnate to sell out, we'd be ok ;)

loved watching barry sanders when he played. too bad they didnt have a team to play with him :(

K.

[KukriKhan]

Yeah Kraellin, wasn't he a joy to watch, "jooglin' past 300 lb linebackers"? Here he is in '98:


and you're so right: zero back-up on the team.

[Mount Suribachi]

kukri,

if we could just get what's his name domino's pizza magnate to sell out, we'd be ok ;)

Krae, I think you're confusing Mike Ilitch (owner of Little Caesers pizza and bankroller of the Redwings) with the Ford family, owners of the Lions and masterminds of 40 years of ineptitude

[Kraellin]

suribachi,

i thought it was tom monohan that owed the lions.... or is that the tigers? anyways, someone's been screwing it up for a while.... both teams :( redwings and pistons have been the only decent teams in detroit since 1968.

kukri,

i loved watching sanders. nobody, and i mean nobody, ever ran like that or has since. the guy had miracle legs and balance. if someone would put all his plays on dvd, i'd buy it in an instant. just amazing.

K.

[KukriKhan]

This Quentin Griffin kid, with Denver, might be a B.Sanders clone. Knows how to zig when others zag. And he has backup.

But you're right: Barry = 1 of a kind.

Funny, trying to find ANY video of him teaches one that the only folks more anal about 'ownership' than the RIAA & the MPAA, is the NFL.

I'm sure B Sanders content is out there, but I'd hate to have to go to 'the dark side' to get it. All thoose hookers, hookettes, pimps and pimpettes, ya know? Guess I'll wait for the official DVD too.

[Mount Suribachi]

suribachi,

i thought it was tom monohan that owed the lions.... or is that the tigers? anyways, someone's been screwing it up for a while.... both teams :( redwings and pistons have been the only decent teams in detroit since 1968.

No, Ilitch now owns the Tigers too. Though I couldn't give a monkeys about baseball.

[Sjakihata]

can someone explain to me what it means when it, eg, says "2nd & 9" I know the 2nd is the 2nd down, but what are teh number next to it? and what exactly is a down?

thanks

im feeling im missing something important here ;)

[KukriKhan]

A "down" is a try, an attempt. The team in possession of the ball gets 4 tries, or downs, to get the ball past the goal line.

While they're doing that, if they manage to advance at least 10 yards, they get to re-start their "downs" (getting four more tries to score).

So you hear "3rd and 8, at the 25", meaning: 3rd down, 8 yards to get another 1st down (i,e, another 4 tries), 25 yards to the goal."

You see a few spectacular, multi-yard gaining plays, but mostly it's a matter of slowly gaining ground a yard or 2 at a time. Recognizing that, football added the 'gain 10 yards = new 1st down' rule.

[King Edward]

Times are changing now though, soccer fans are starting to discover that you can drink beer all day for five days at cricket matches now, so professional games are 'down-marketing", but it's still largely played by the upper-middle to upper classes, except in the north where they're all working class .



A bit OT, but I'd say Rugby (Union) was less of a game for the 'unwashed masses' than soccer is, it's the winter game of choice for most public (very good, old private schools) and private schools and the crowds are very much more middle-class family orientated, much more so than soccer, where the crowds are far more 'common'. This is changing as well though ever since England won the Rugby World Cup, Rugby's becoming more appealling to the soccer crowd.

The best way i heard it described was - "Football is a gentlemans game played by thugs, where as Rugby is a thugs game played by Gentlemen"

As far as cricket goes, Englands Barmy army arn't exactly the tea and crumpets croud!

Apologies for being somewhat off topic

[Sjakihata]

so the yellow/red graphical line is where they need to pass in order to get 4 more downs? Btw, I dont think 10 yards is very much to cross to get 4 more downs, they can just throw the ball, no?
btw, if they fail to cross the line, will the defensive team then go offensive, I mean they switch sides?

[English assassin]

BTW is it true that there are completely different players for when you are attacking and defending? So do they all gone on and off the pitch each time?

What happens if one of the defenders manages to get the ball off the attackers (by intercepting a pass, say), is he allowed to try to run it up the pitch or does the game come to an end and they all have to switch over? That would really spoil the run of play surely?

[KukriKhan]

Yes the yellow/red graphical line = the 1st down point (Fox sports channel came up with that little viewing enhancement about 5 years ago - before, we had to do like the players do: watch the little guys on the sidelines with the 10-yard chain).

10 yards doesn't sound like much ground. And when we played sandlot football as kids, we didn't observe that rule. For us: 4 downs/tries, then turn the ball over; they get 4 downs, turn the ball over.

At college and professional level, the play strategy is incredibly detailed, making a goal in 4 downs is almost impossible. So, to improve the "watch-ability" of the game, they invented the 10 yards=new 1st down rule, to encourage the forward pass (as you suggest), and to prevent watching two teams (boringly) moving 3-4 per play, gaining 12-15 yards in 4 plays, then turning it over. Basically, 22 guys fighting over about 25 yards back-and-forth.

Almost all new football rules, since the 1920's (IMO) are designed to enhance the game for the audience. We love the spectacular here, and there's big money to be made providing it.

[KukriKhan]

BTW is it true that there are completely different players for when you are attacking and defending? So do they all gone on and off the pitch each time?

What happens if one of the defenders manages to get the ball off the attackers (by intercepting a pass, say), is he allowed to try to run it up the pitch or does the game come to an end and they all have to switch over? That would really spoil the run of play surely?

It's not a rule that offense/defense be different players, but it is the norm (Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders being notable exceptions - they "played both sides of the ball"). Yes, usually switched from offense to defense involves the logistical nightmare of moving 11 guys off pitch, and 11 others on.

You have described an 'interception' (a defender catching a pass thrown by the other team). It's one of the most spectacular events of the game. Yes, he keeps it and runs toward the goal. It oftens catches the other team flat-footed, and quarterbacks (on-pitch team leader who throws the ball) live and die in their careers because of them.

The other "turnover" event (besides an interception, or 4 downs expiring) is the fumble. A dropped ball can be picked up by anyone and advanced toward their goal. Though usually it results in a heap of humanity piled up on whoever picked up such a drop, with the officials sorting thru the arms and legs of a dozen guys to see who actually possesses the ball at that point.