World Cup Sports Illustrated

World Cup Sports Illustrated

A History of Paint Ball Gear Sites by C R Ellsworth

Modern Paint Ball guns were a natural progression from a 'Ping Pong Gun' that was used by many young 'Warriors' in the 1950's. This 'Toy' would fire Ping Pong balls under air pressure. A hit wasn't as painful as a modern unprotected 'Paintball' hit, because of the deceleration of the very light projectile.

Then the Daisy Manufacturing Company of 'BB Gun' fame came up with the first Paint Ball Gun. The first Paint Ball gun was invented (1970) and patented by a Daisy Employee, James Hale (U.S. patent 3,788, 298 issued on January 29, 1974.) with the original intent of use by the Forest Service and ranchers marking trees for harvest and cattle for selection. The first gun actually designed for playing Paintball was the Splatmaster invented by Robert G Shepherd. This U.S. patent number 4,531,503 was issued to Shepherd on July 30, 1985.

The Forestry version (Nel-spot 007 pistols) was used in a game of 'Capture the Flag' in 1981, boys will be boys. By 1982 some of the entrepreneurial players from that 'Capture the Flag' game, started National Survival Games (NSG) and opening paint ball fields. Charles Gaines, founded NSG. PMI (Pursuit Marketing Inc.) was founded for the distribution and marketing of Paint Ball products and paint ball gear sites. Caleb Strong opened the first outdoor paintball gear site in 1982 in upstate New York. Being in upstate New York, Caleb also opened the first indoor paintball gear site in Buffalo in 1984.
The early marketing of the new sport included articles written by quite a few of those early players and published in Sports Illustrated and other sports genre.

Once established it was only natural to set up a Championship Contest. This was done in 1983 at a paint ball gear site with a purse of $14,000 cash. The sport also went international in 1983 with the opening of an outdoor paintball gear site in Toronto.
More International Venues were added beginning with Australia in 1984, France and Denmark in 1991 with the rest of Europe soon to follow. An indoor paintball gear site was erected in England by 1985.

I'm sure quite a few Wives, Mothers and anyone who does their own laundry are grateful to George A. Skogg who in 1987 patented a "washable marking fluid formulation for soft gelatin capsules" - a Paintball bullet recipe (U.S. patent 4,634,606 granted January 6, 1987.) The fluid when packaged in a soft gelatin capsule produced projectiles that were more accurate and stable and made bright, highly visible marks that could be easily washed out with water and/or detergent and were ideally suitable for use in the sports and games exercises. Skogg worked for the Nelson Paint Company and this patent became the Nelson recipe for Paintballs.

LET'S GET ORGANIZED
In 1988 The IPPA (International Paintball Players Association) was founded. This is a non-profit association dedicated to the education, growth and safety of the sport of paintball. During the period 1992-1993 NPPL (National Professional Paintball League ) was founded and the NPPL Pro-Am Series began with paint ball gear site tournaments set up in Reno, New York, Boston, and other cities around the U.S..

It was inevitable that television would become involved. How could it 'NOT' be included. In 1993 ESPN aired it's filming of the NPPL 'DC Cup' from Bowie, Maryland, organized by the PCRI (Paintball Ratings and Competitions International). As interest expanded in 1996 ESPN aired the ESPN World Championships of Paintball from Orlando, Florida.
And of course the Internet would become a venue. In 1994 Warpig introduced the first internet paintball gear site.

The game has exploded into a multimillion-dollar sport with amateur and professional tournaments across the United States and Europe. Paintball Gear Sites are opening every day now, all over the world. Cash purses and prizes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars are involved. Daisy (manufacturer of pellets, B.B.s and air guns), Crossman (manufacturer of airguns), Scott USA (manufacturer of ski poles and goggles) and JT USA (manufacturer of motocross safety equipment) are just a few of the companies that have expanded into paintball paraphernalia and equipment. Sponsors of modern tournaments include companies such as Budweiser and Pepsi-Cola and who know's what's next. (Toy's r Us, Ruger).

C. R. Ellsworth is retired and living in the 'Great North Woods'.
He's been involved in On-Line & Network Marketing since 2000.
Paintball Gear Sites
I Work 4 U

Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/A-History-of-Paint-Ball-Gear-Sites/18444

World Cup Sports Illustrated

Arnold Palmer - The Man From Latrobe by Denise I Smithson

One of the greatest players ever to step up to the green, Arnold Palmer was born in Latrobe, PA - a city which is justifiably proud of its most famous native son. Ever since his first major tournament win all the way back in 1955, Palmer has been one of the biggest names in golf - many fans refer to him as "The King". Along with Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus, Palmer is one of the Big Three names in the golf world. Palmer's playing was in large part responsible for the increased interest in golf as a spectator sport once games began to be televised in the 1950s.

Arnold got his passion for playing golf from his father Deacon Palmer who was a professional greens keeper at Latrobe Country Club. Remarkably, at only age seven, Arnold golfed an impressive 70 at Bent Creek Country Club. Even though his father worked at the Latrobe Country Club, which was only nine holes back in the day, Arnold was only allowed to play in the early mornings or late afternoons, when club members weren't using the course.

It should come as no surprise that Palmer went to Wake Forest University on a golf scholarship; afterwards, he served in the Coast Guard for three years, keeping his golf skills sharp all the while. During his stint in the Coast Guard, he married Winifred Walker, whom he met at a golf tournament in Pennsylvania. In his first season, Palmer came out on top in the Canadian open - he followed up this impressive win with something of a charm offensive, quickly becoming a fan favorite and helping to increase the popularity of the game.

He won his first major championship at the 1958 Masters and by 1960, he claimed his title as one of golf's leading stars. Signing with sports agent Mark McCormack, in 1960, McCormack was asked in later years what made Arnold so special. He replied, "his good looks, his modest background, the way he played golf, his risk taking and wearing his heart on his sleeve, and his involvement in so many exciting early televised finishes." Palmer was one the first US player to win The Open Championship in England-Ben Hogan won it in 1953; making Arnold an international star in the eyes of golf fans everywhere. Arnold won seven major championships including The Masters in 1958, 1960, 1962, and 1964; the US Open in 1960; and, The Open Championship in 1961 and 1962. His best years were perhaps 1960-1963 where he championed 29 PGA Tour events in just four seasons.

Palmer was also named Professional Athlete of the Year in 1960 by Sports Illustrated. The same year, he won the Sportsman of the Year award. These awards won him a growing fan base which became known as "Arnie's Army". Palmer continued to win one or more PGA Tour events every year until 1971 (when he won four), even against Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player - an impressive achievement.

Arnold won the Vardon Trophy for low score average four different times and played on six Ryder Cup teams. By 1980, the acclaimed golfer was eligible for the Senior PGA Tour and with his name alone, helped make the tour successful. The tourney would eventually be renamed as the Champions Tour. On the Senior Tour he won ten events on the tour and with the help of his agent McCormack, Palmer became tops in pay for endorsements, sponsorships, and charity events. He has also won the revered Presidential Medal of Freedom Award presented to him by George W. Bush.

Palmer's last appearance in the Masters was in 2004; this was his 50th appearance in the tournament. He decided to opt out of future Senior Majors after failing to make the cut for the 2005 US Senior Open. Palmer however went out on top - in the 2004 Bay Hill Invitational, he got his second shot onto the 18th green using a driver from 200 yards away! It was the kind of shot only he could make; and this time, he seems to have impressed even himself.

Beyond golf, Arnold is involved in many businesses including the Bay Hill Club and Lodge (the home of the Arnold Palmer Invitational), helped organize and create The Golf Channel, and helped to build the first golf course in the People's Republic of China. He started The Arnold Palmer Design Company and moved to Orlando, Florida in 2006. He has owned the Latrobe Country Club since 1971-something Laaaytrobians won't let anyone forget. In 2000, he was ranked a deserved sixth greatest player of all time in Golf Digest and was awarded the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award (1998) and made it into the World Golf Hall of Fame (1974). Perhaps Palmer's most popular characteristic is indeed his character-a warm, full of laughter, genuine man who simply loved to play golf.

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Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/Arnold-Palmer---The-Man-From-Latrobe/499732

World Cup Sports Illustrated

History of Paintballs by michael russell

Paintballing is a relatively new sport that has come into popularity since its creation almost 20 years ago.The core of the idea behind paintball was to recreate the thrill of hunting wild game in Africa without the expenses included in making such a trip.Inspired by Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game and eager to recreate the adrenaline rush of the hunt, three friends--Hayes Noel, Bob Gurnsey, and Charles Gaines--eventually worked out the most important qualities that a hunter could possess, but what they lacked was the necessary tool to make such a game possible.

It wasn't until a friend of theirs showed them a paintball gun manufactured by the Nelson Paint Company that they found that tool.The paintballs and guns produced by Nelson Paint Company were originally designed for agricultural purposes--tree marking, etc.However, this did not stop these men from developing a game designed along the lines of capture the flag based around them.The very first paintball game took place June 2, 1981, with a dozen players competing against one another.An article was published that same month in Sports Illustrated on that game.The first games were crude compared to today's standards, with extremely limited ammunition per gun.Players would even resort to throwing paintballs at one another.

Interest in paintball climbed steadily, and Bob Gurnsey eventually founded National Survival Game and contracted with Nelson Paint Company to be the sole distributor of their guns and paintballs.This initial monopoly allowed Gurnsey to turn a profit in six months.Competitor manufacturers of paintballs quickly appeared in the early 1980s, spurring development in paintball technology.Nelson Paint Company would later split into two companies: Nelson Paint Company, which focused on traditional paint products, and Nelson Technologies, Inc. (better known as Nelson Paintballs), which still produces paintballs today.

Competitive tournaments have been going on nearly since the sport's inception.The first major paintball tournament was held in 1983, with the Canadian-based team The Unknown Rebels from London, Ontario, winning.Originally played in the woods, tournaments shifted over to the speedball format in the late 1990s.Speedball is similar to the idea of indoor soccer, with an even, enclosed field with a set terrain that afforded neither team an unfair advantage over the other.Tournaments since then have largely been in this format.The world's largest, the World Cup, takes place each October at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Florida.

Paintballs themselves have evolved over time as well.When the game first began in the early 1980s, paintballs were oil-based.Turpentine parties were not common after a game to get the paint off.Today's paintballs are a gelatin shell filled with vegetable oil and food coloring.A number of variations have been developed for paintballs, including glow in the dark, scented, and cold weather ones.Some teams in tournament play will put their paintballs in a freezer to cool them and make the paint more brittle to shatter easier on impact and reduce the odds of a ricochet.

Tina Powers is a retailer of paintballs and other paintball supplies at Unlimited Paintballs.If you're interested in improving your game, check out her web site at http://www.UnlimitedPaintballs.com.

Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/History-of-Paintballs/607744

Sports Illustrated Models Get Behind Springboks