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10 Best Cheerleading Teams of NFL

November 18, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Best Cheerleading Teams of NFL

Football is a game of great enthusiasm, where the players and the audience seem to be equally charged up. When footballers step onto the field, they are under immense pressure. They need to perform well for themselves, as well as for the hundreds of thousands of people who rest their hoped upon the shoulders of the players. There’s nothing better for the confidence than to be cheered by everyone, and when there is a special squad of beautifully dressed people dancing and singing to cheer the team, nothing boosts the confidence more. In NFL, the cheerleading squads are almost as well-recognized as the men who take on the fields. These squads are made up of super athletic, talented and beautiful women who are well-trained to do what they do. Let us look at some of the Best Cheerleading Teams of NFL.

10 Best Cheerleading Teams of NFL

1. San Diego Charger Girls

The official cheerleading squad of the San Diego Chargers in NFL are a treat for the eyes when they take over with their performances during the home games at Qualcomm Stadium. It was founded in 1990, and is managed by e2k Events and Entertainment. The squad dresses in white and dark blue, the same colour combination as the San Diego Chargers. The members of this squad serve as the ambassadors of the Chargers, as well as the San Diego community. They make several off-game appearances, and has an annual calendar. Each Junior Charger Girls member raises $175 in sponsor funds which go to the Charger Community Foundation and Make-A-Wish Foundation. Some of the most notable members are Alexa Flutie, daughter of Doug Flutie, and actress Charisma Carpenter.

2. Denver Broncos Cheerleaders

The Denver Broncos Cheerleaders is the official cheerleaders of the Denver Broncos, which performs at the home games of the Broncos at Sports Authority Field a Mile High. The squad changed names several times, like Bronkettes, Bronco Belles or Pony Express. After disbanding in 1980, they returned in 1993. The girls dress in orange, blue and white to keep up with the Broncos’ uniforms. The group appears at trade shows and conventions, and has toured military bases as far as Iraq, Afghanistan, among other countries. The Junior Broncos Cheerleaders has a dance squad, and they participate in several charity events. Some of the notable members are ESPN host Tatiana Anderson, Michelle Beister of NFL Network, Renee Herlocker of Spike TV, E! News, etc.

3. Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleaders

The Kansas City Chiefs’ official cheer squad, the Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleaders, is a group that takes over with great moves at the Chiefs home in Arrowhead Stadium. When born in the 70s, it had male members, but, eventually, it became an all-women squad, assuming the name Chiefettes, and then its current name. It has a separate male squad, called Chiefs Rumble, a drum line. KCCC performs in white and red to complement the Chiefs uniforms. It encourages participation by young cheerleaders on Spirit Day. The squad appears at various events, as well as military bases. They perform with KC Wolf, the Chiefs mascot, and have a horse called Warpaint. MMA fighter Rachel Ray, anchor of KSHB-TV Najahe Sherman, etc. are some notable members.

4. Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders

The professional cheerleading group of the Miami Dolphins has been around since 1966, but was inaugurated in 1978. Since its inception, it has changed its name and ownership many times. It not only performs at Sun Life Stadium, Dolphins’ home stadium, but also has off-game activities, such as the annual calendar and the USO trips. Every year, it sends a cheerleader to the Pro Bowl, and a number of alumni to Indian Premier League. In 2012, the MDC made it to the video cover of Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. It has a youth cheer squad as well. The MDC performs in all white uniforms. Miami radio personality Suzy Tavarez, actress Hennely Jimenez, WYFF reporter Ashley White, Univision Network reporter and anchor Pamela Silva Conde, etc. are some notable members.

5. Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is one of the most notable cheerleading squads in the world, representing the Dallas Cowboys, and cheering them in their home ground at AT&T Stadium. Established in 1960, it has a rich history of fifty years. Originally a male-female group called Cowbelles& beaux, it eventually dropped its male members. Over the years, the group has gone through several makeovers of image and uniform, as well as overall modifications. They perform in white and blue, with flamboyant boots and belts. DCC inaugurated the second 1994 FIFA World Cup and appeared in other sporting events. They had their own reality TV series, and appeared on well-known shows like Saturday Night Live, Family Feud, etc.

6. Houston Texans Cheerleaders

The official cheerleading team of the Houston Texans has been around since 2002. Since 2008, the squad has been releasing its own annual swimsuit calendar. The Houston Texans Cheerleaders also make off-the-field appearances including parties and charity events. In 2011, the squad held a Gold Tournament, Birds and Birdies, at Cypresswood Golf Club. In the same year, the squad formed a HTC All Stars Group in which cheerleaders from across Houston were invited to get together and get a chance to perform at the Happy Holidays Show. The squad performs in various combinations of dark blue and red, and white, to stay true to the colour combination of the Houston Texans. Notable members are The Hockey Show hostess Carrie Milbank, Matt Schaub’s wife Adil Naqvi, etc.

7. Buffalo Jills Cheerleaders

The Buffalo Jills are the cheerleaders of the Buffalo Bills. Earlier in 1960-65, they were known as Buffalo Bills Cheerleaders, a group made of college girls, until in 1967, the Jills came into being. Since then, they have had quite a rich and eventful history of several changes and modifications, as well as a few controversies. The most notable fact about the Buffalo Jills is that the squad has no official ties with the Buffalo Bills since 1986, when the Bills contracted then out to third parties, including Mighty Tacos. Its Ambassador Squad Jills division with young non-dancing women meets rising demands of public appearances. It became the first NFL squad in 2008 to go multinational, cheering for Orchard Park, New York and Toronto, Ontario. Among other activities, it sells an annual calendar.

8. Tennessee Titans Cheerleaders

The cheerleading squad of the Tennessee Titans performs during the home games of the team at LP Field, and is one of the most notable squads, with excellent dance moves. The squad performs with the Titans mascot T-Rac and the junior squad. Established in 1975, it was known as the Derrick Dolls, and assumed the current name after the Titans moved to Tennessee. The squad makes USO trips, with the cheerleaders making trips to Kuwait and Diego Garcia for the All-Star Super Bowl Tour. The off-the-field activities include publishing a swimsuit calendar and appearing. They appeared on the Dr. Oz Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Notable members include cancer research fellow Dr. Monica Williams, TNA Wrestling ring girl and manager and juvenile court clerk April Pennington, etc.

9. Oakland Raiderettes Cheerleaders

The cheerleading squad of the Oakland Raiders is known as the Oakland Raiderettes. It is one of the oldest cheerleading squads, formed in 1961. In 1982, it became the Los Angeles Raiderettes when the Oakland Raiders moved to Los Angeles, though the franchise moved back in 1995, and the cheerleading resumes using its original name. The members have been billed Football’s Fabulous Females in both the Oakland as well as Los Angeles. The squad performs wearing a combination of black, white and silver, to complement the Titans jersey. Some of the notable members of the group are Playboy model and actress Tina Martin, playwright Sandy Wolshin, model and actress Erica Arana, world class athlete Chandra Roberts who is a noted member of football associations, etc.

10. Indianapolis Colts Cheerleaders

The official cheerleading squad of the Indianapolis Colts is considered one of the best. It performs at the Colts home ground at Lucas Oil Stadium. It is the oldest cheerleading squad in the NFL, formed in 1954 with only two women. Over the years, they have changed their costumes, but have stayed true to the Indianapolis Colts’ colours, i.e. Blue and white. They had a horse as a mascot which was left behind in 1984. Its show group tours various places to entertain fans. It has a Junior Cheerleaders program. The cheerleaders also release their own swimsuit calendar. In tribute to coach Chuck Pagano’s successful battle with leukaemia, several of them shaved their heads in 2012.Radio personality Mindy Winker, WBBM-TV meteorologist Megan Glaros, etc. are some notable members.

Many of the other NFL teams have some excellent cheerleading teams. Some of the other notable names in the list of Best Cheerleading Teams of NFL are those of Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, etc.

10 Best Female Ice Hockey Teams

November 4, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Female Ice Hockey Teams

Ice hockey is widely popular in western countries such as the Canada and United States. The game is even popular in the English continents as many of the European nations participate and win various international championships. IIHF World Women’s Championship is among the top tier championships in the world and the IIHF European Women Championships is the biggest event of this game in European continents. Ice Hockey has been a part of the Olympic Games since 1920 when it was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Later, the event was permanently shifted to the Winter Olympic Games in 1924. The International Olympic Committee voted to approve women’s hockey as an Olympic event in 1992 and was first played in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. The Canadian and American teams are the most dominant force in all the major international championships as numerous other countries also gave their best in the past days. So here is the list of 10 Best Female Ice Hockey Teams.

10 Best Female Ice Hockey Teams

1. Canada

The Canadian women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2960 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Canadian Women’s team scored 1200 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1160 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1200 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1160 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Doug Derraugh and the current captain is Caroline Ouellette. The team won the IIHF World Women’s Championship ten times and also achieved four gold medals and a silver medal in the Olympic Games.

2. United States

The United States women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the second best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2940 points as of February 2014, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The United States Women’s team scored 1160 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1200 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1160 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1200 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Katey Stone and the current captain is Meghan Duggan. The team already achieved the IIHF World Women’s Championship titles five times and won a gold medal, a silver and a bronze medal in the Olympic Games.

3. Switzerland

The Switzerland women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the third best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2720 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Switzerland Women’s team scored 1120 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1040 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1120 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1040 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is René Kammerer and the current captain is Julia Marty. The team is controlled by the Schweizerischer Eishockeyverband. The Switzerland team recently achieved a bronze medal in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

4. Finland

The Finland women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the fourth best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2715 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Finland Women’s team scored 1060 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1100 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1100 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1120 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Mika Pieniniemi and the current captain is Jenni Hiirikoski. The team became second runners up in the IIHF World Women’s Championships ten times and became the winner of the IIHF European Women Championships four times.

5. Russia

The Russian women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the fifth best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2675 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Russian Women’s team scored 1040 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1120 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1400 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1100 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Mikhail Chekanov and the current captain is Yekaterina Smolentseva. The Russian team won three bronze medals in the IIHF World Women’s Championships and won a silver medal in the European Championship.

6. Sweden

The Sweden women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the sixth best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2675 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Swedish Women’s team scored 1100 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1020 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1060 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1060 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Niclas Högberg and the current captain is Jenni Asserholt. The team achieved third place in the IIHF World Women’s Championships twice and won the IIHF European Women Championships in 1996.

7. Germany

The Germany women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the seventh best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2565 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The German Women’s team scored 1020 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1060 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1020 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 960 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Peter Kathan and the current captain is Susann Götz. The team placed at the fifth position in the IIHF World Women’s Championships three times, and made three Olympic appearances till date.

8. Czech Republic

The Czech Republic women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the eighth best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2400 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Czech Republican Women’s team scored 960 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1100 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 960 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 840 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Jiri Vozák and the current captain is Alena Polenska. The Czech team was placed in the 8th position in the IIHF World Women’s Championship 2013.

9. Japan

The Japanese women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the ninth best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2395 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Japanese Women’s team scored 1000 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 960 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 920 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 860 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Ilzuka Yuji and the current captain is Osawa Chiho. The team earned the IIHF Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia twice consecutively in 2011 and 2012 and also achieved five silver medals in the Asian Winter Games.

10. Slovakia

The Slovakia women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the tenth best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2325 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Slovakian Women’s team scored 880 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 920 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1000 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1020 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Milan Skokan and the current captain is Martina Veličková. The Slovakian team defeated Bulgaria by 142–0 while making one goal every 44 seconds on an average which is a Guinness World Record.

Other teams such as the Norway women’s national ice hockey team are also recognized among the best teams as they achieved the bronze medal in IIHF European Women Championship in 1993. The Denmark women’s national ice hockey team also achieved the bronze medal in 1991 IIHF European Women Championship.

10 Best Female Cricket Teams

November 4, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Female Cricket Teams

Everyone says that cricket is the gentleman’s game. No one ever says that cricket is a lady’s game. This is because, just like most sports, cricket, too, has been made into something in which only the made are said to excel. But the truth is, cricket has always been quite popular among women. Be it because of the fact that it has a slow pace, or that it requires less running around the field may have been the reason for its popularity among the British women who could play it even if they wore the long and heavy dresses. Over the years as the game has picked speed, so have the women of the world, and they have shone in cricket. Let us look at 10 Best Female Cricket Teams in the world.

10 Best Female Cricket Teams

1. Australia

The Australian national women’s cricket team played their first Test match in 1935 against England. They won the ICC Women’s World Cup a record five times in 1978, 1982, 1989, 1998 and 2005. They made their highest One Day International team score of 412 runs on 16 December 1997 against Denmark at Mumbai, India in. The Australian Women’s national team started playing Women’s One Day International cricket in 1973 and till 2014 they played a total of 275 matches. They won 212 ODI matches out of 275 matches they played with a winning percentage of 78.99. The Australian Women’s team lost 56 matches till now with 1 draw, and 6 of their international ODI matches were finished with no result. Australian Women’s national team also played 71 International test matches from 1934 to 2014.

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2. England

The England women’s cricket team defeated Australia at 2–0 in a three-Test series in their debut in 1935. They won the ICC Women’s World Cup three times in 1973, 1993 and 2009. The current captain of the women’s side is Charlotte Edwards. The team represents both the England and Wales in women’s cricket. English Women’s national team started playing Women’s One Day International cricket in 1973 and till 2014 they played a total of 289 matches. They won 165 ODI matches out of 289 matches they played with a winning percentage of 59.49. The England Women’s team lost 112 matches till now with 2 draw and 10 of their international ODI matches finished with no result. English Women’s national team also played 91 International test matches from 1934 to 2014.

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3. India

The Indian women’s cricket team played their first Test match against the West Indies in 1977. They won the Women’s Asia Cup three times and also reached the finals of the 2005 ICC Women’s World Cup. The current captain of the women’s side is Mithali Raj. The first Indian women’s cricket club was the Parsi community in Bombay established in 1848. Indian Women’s National team started playing Women’s One Day International cricket in 1978 and till 2014 they played a total of 211 matches. They won 109 ODI matches out of 211 matches they played with a winning percentage of 52.89. The Indian Women’s team lost 97 matches till now with 1 draw and 4 of their international ODI matches finished with no result. Indian Women’s national team also played 34 International test matches from 1976 to 2006.

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4. West Indies

The West Indies women’s cricket team played their first test series in their own country against Australia in 1976. They made their ICC Women’s World Cup appearances 5 times starting from 1993. The current captain of the women’s national team is Stephanie Power. West Indian Women’s national team started playing Women’s One Day International cricket in 1979 and till 2014 they played a total of 126 matches. They won 62 ODI matches out of 126 matches they played with a winning percentage of 51.22. The West Indies Women’s team lost 59 matches till now with 1 draw and 4 of their International ODI matches finished with no result. West Indian Women’s National Team also played 12 international test matches from 1976 to 2004.

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5. New Zealand

The New Zealand women’s national cricket team played their first Test match against England in 1935. The team is also known as the White Ferns. They won the Women’s Asia Cup in 2000. The current captain of the women’s national team is Aimee Watkins. The New Zealand Women’s national team started playing Women’s One Day International cricket in 1973 and till 2014 they played a total of 278 matches. They won 136 ODI matches out of 278 matches they played with a winning percentage of 50.36. The New Zealand Women’s team lost 134 matches till now with 2 draw and 6 of their international ODI matches finished with no result. New Zealand Women’s national team also played 45 International test matches from 1935 to 2004.

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6. South Africa

The South African national women’s cricket team played their first Test match against England in 1960 and became the fourth women’s Test cricket playing country. As the sporting boycott against the system of racial segregation in South Africa, they played no international cricket matches from 1972 to 1997. South African Women’s national team started playing Women’s One Day International cricket in 1997 and till 2014 they played a total of 115 matches. They won 54 ODI matches out of 115 matches they played with a winning percentage of 50.00. The South Africa Women’s team lost 54 matches till now with 1 draw and 6 of their international ODI matches finished with no result. South African Women’s national team also played 11 International test matches from 1960 to 2007.

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7. Sri Lanka

The Sri Lanka national women’s cricket team played their first One Day International match against The Netherlands in 1997. The current captain of the women’s national team is Shashikala Siriwardana. The team made their ICC Women’s World Cup appearances three times till date. The also reached the finals of Asia Cup two times in 2004 and 2006. Sri Lankan Women’s national team started playing Women’s One Day International cricket in 1997 and till 2014, they played a total of 110 matches. They won 49 ODI matches out of 110 matches they played with a winning percentage of 46.22. The Sri Lanka Women’s team lost 57 matches till now with no draws but 4 of their international ODI matches finished with no result. Sri Lankan Women’s National Team also played an international test match in 1998.

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8. Ireland

The Ireland women’s national cricket team played their first Test match against Australia in 1987. The current captain of the women’s national team is Heather Whelan. The team made their ICC Women’s World Cup appearances five times and reached the semi-final at 1988 ICC Women’s World Cup. Irish Women’s national team started playing Women’s One Day International cricket in 1987 and till 2014 they played a total of 130 matches. They won 38 ODI matches out of 130 matches they played with a winning percentage of 30.40. The Irish Women’s team lost 87 matches till now with no draws but 5 of their international ODI matches finished with no result. Irish Women’s national team also played an international test match in 2000.

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9. Pakistan

The Pakistan national women’s cricket team played their first One Day International match against New Zealand in 1997. The current captain of the women’s national team is Sana Mir. The team made their ICC Women’s World Cup appearances three times till date. They won the gold medals in Asian Games twice consecutively in 2010 and 2014. Pakistani Women’s national team started playing Women’s One Day International cricket in 1997 and till 2014 they played a total of 112 matches. They won 31 ODI matches out of 112 matches they played with a winning percentage of 28.18. The Pakistan Women’s Team lost 79 matches till now with no draws but 2 of their international ODI matches finished with no result. Pakistani Women’s national team also played 3 International test matches from 1998 to 2004.

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10. Bangladesh

The Bangladesh national women’s cricket team played their first Test match against Thailand in 2007. They won the ACC Women’s Tournament in 2007. The current captain of the Bangladeshi women’s national team is Salma Khatun. They won the silver medals in the Asian Games twice
consecutively in 2010 and 2014. The team secured the 5th place in the 2011 Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier. Bangladeshi Women’s national team started playing Women’s One Day International cricket in 2011 and till 2014 they played a total of 16 matches. They won 4 ODI matches out of 16 matches they played with a winning percentage of 26.66. The Bangladesh Women’s team lost 11 matches till now with no draws but one of their international ODI matches finished with no result.

All the cricket-playing nations have a women’s team, and they deserve equal respect and adulation as the men’s teams do. It is often seen that the women’s cricket teams are ignored. In fact, it is quite safe to say that most of the women cricket teams do not receive half the praise and popularity as the men’s teams. It’s high time for the nations and the cricket fans to take notice of the women, and recognize the girl power that these teams highlight on the fields.

Top 10 One Hit Wonders of Sports

October 23, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

One Hit Wonders of Sports

Every once in a while, we get to watch a historical match in a sport, where the day is saved by a player who descends like an angel and, with one hit, one, goal, or one shot, changes the whole game. Such a player might be an underdog, but, on his special day, he breaks all stereotypes associated with his name, and shows excellent form. It often happens that even after such a sudden display of great skill and technique, the player may never be found to play such a great match again. Such players, the one hit wonders, are there in almost every sport. Let us look at the Top 10 One Hit Wonders of Sports.

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Top 10 One Hit Wonders of Sports

Daniel Gibson

Daniel Hiram Gibson, fondly known as Booby or Boobie, is a basketball player who is seen playingin the NBA playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. His professional career began in 2006. He is quite well-known for the contribution he made to his team during the playoff run in 2007. In the same year, the Cavaliers succeeded in breaking past the Detroit Pistons, and made it to the finals of the NBA. In Game 6 of the finals of Eastern Conference against Detroit, Gibson managed to score 19 coming in the fourth quarter. However, so far, this seems to have been the only highlight of his career since then. In fact, in the recent history of basketball, Gibson has proven himself to be quite a one-hit wonder, though he still has some chance to shine.

Iva Majoli

In the 1997 French Open, former tennis player from Croatia, Iva Majoli Marić, appeared for times straight in the quarterfinals, and she gained a surprise French Open title in that run. In an upset match against the then world no. 1, Martina Hingis, Majoli snatched up her singles title. She also defeated fifh seed Lindsay Davenport in the fourth round. These apart, she has no other record of beating any other top ranked player. After the French Open win, she was seen in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, and also reached the quarters of the French Open in the following year, but, didn’t display any memorable match. This being her last appearance in the advanced levels of the Grand Slam, Majoli retired in June, 2004.

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Oleg Salenko

Oleg Anatolyevich Salenko is a former soccer player from Russia who played as a striker in the national team. His career began in 1986. He went into the FIFA World Cup in the year 1994, despite having never scored a single international goal. Prior to that year, he had a solitary cap for Russia for his name. In the most striking tournament of his life, he began his journey of goals with his first one against Sweden. Then, he scored five goals past Cameroon whom Russia defeated by 6-1, a record in the group stage of the tournament. Russia couldnt progress past the groups. However, Salenko’s astonishing performance won him the Golden Boot. Shockingly, Russia never picked him again in his career, which lasted till 2000.

David Tyree

David Mikel Tyree is a former American footballer who played as a wide receiver in the NFL for seven seasons. He is known for miraculous helmet catch in the final drive of Super Bowl XLII of the New York Giants. He made a memorable moment in the history of Super Bowl as, in the waning moments of the game, when the Giants required to convert a first down to have a shot at beating the opponents, Eli Manning dropped back and broke a few tackles, and then tossed the ball to Tyree who caught it, and kept the drive alive, as his team won 17-14. Despite his shining moment, Tyree never managed to shine through again. He is primarily remembered for the Helmet Catch. He retired in 2010 with 650 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

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Tom Cheney

Thomas Edgar Cheney was a baseball player who played in the MLB from 1957 and continued till 1966. Though not a very popular player, Cheney, a right-handed pitcher, has his name in the history of baseball for his record in the major league for an amazing 21 strikeouts in a single game. The most sensational part of the story is that he did it all within a matter of just 16 innings. In the 1962 match against Baltimore Orioles, when he played for Washington Senators, Cheney pitched all 16 seasons, throwing an unbelievable 228 pitches. Washington Senators won 2-1. However, Cheney’s arm didn’t help him give any more such performance. He managed to throw only 136.1 innings in the following season, and dropped further to 48.2 in 1964.

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Richard Dumas

Richard Wayne Dumas is a retired basketball player who was associated with the NBA, and had a professional career from 1990 to 2003. He was considered one of the most promising players playing for the Phoenix Suns, back in the early 90s. His most memorable season was in 1993, when he helped his team make it to the finals of the NBA. He had an average of 15.8 ppg and 4.6 rpg. His career best play was when he reached the score of 25 points in the 5^th game of the 1993 NBA Finals, and he showed all the qualities in that season to become a great player. Unfortunately, that was his only success in the NBA, since in the following years, he was in the clasps of substance abuse, until by 1997, he was out of a roster spot.

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Thomas Johansson

Karl Thomas Conny Johansson, former tennis player from Sweden, appeared in 46 Grand Slams, out of which he managed to advance past the fourth round only four times. His 2002 Australian Open championship was quite a surprise: he had never before gone past the third round in Melbourne out of his 13 appearances. Only in the US Open 1998 and 2000 had he managed to advance that far in the Grand Slam. In the 2002 Australian Open, the top six seeds had already been knocked out in the first few rounds, and Johansson faced only three of the ranked players, the most notable being Marat Safin. He was the silver medallist in the doubles. His run to the 2005 Wimbledon semi-final was his only other notable match in such an advanced level in his career. He declared his retirement in June, 2009.

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Totò Schillaci

Salvadore Schillaci was more commonly and fondly known as Toto. This former Italian soccer player began his moderate football career in 1982. But, he is remembered as the surprise star of the World Cup Ilatia 1990. Though he started off in the tournament as a substitute player in the first match, he brought on quite a surprise with his 6 goals throughout World Cup, thus paving his way to the Golden Boot, as well as the Golden Ball beating LotharMatthäus and Diego Maradona. He had an Australian thoroughbred racehorse named after him. But, this was his ‘one hit’, and managed just seven goals for his country in his entire career. In four seasons of league football, he scored five-six goals in each whole campaign. He retired in 1997.

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Timmy Smith

Timothy LaRay Smith is a former American football player who played as the running back in NFL. He had a short career of three years in the NFL, which started in the year 1987. He is best remembered for his memorable rushing record in the Super Bowl XXII in 1988, as he gained 204 yards, and scored two touchdowns. He played for the Washington Redskins from 1987 to 1988, and in his first season as a rookie, his performance allowed his team to beat the Denver Broncos 42-10. Naturally, there were some great expectations placed upon him in the next season, as well. However, he let down his fans and team as his ‘one hit’ went straight to his head, and he began to lead a life of drug abuse. The injuries didn’t help much, either, and he retired in 1990.

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John Paciorek

John Francis Paciorek is a former baseball player whose remarkable display of skill started and ended in 1963. To be more precise, he played just one match in his major-league career. After the expansion of the rosters in September, he started as the right fielder in the final game of the season for the Houston Colts .45s. He managed to go to the plates five times, and hit three singles and drew two walks, thus scoring four runs. He drove in all three runs of his team. He has a perfect career batting average, with an on-base percentage of 1.000. He also appeared in the pre-season exhibition game in 1964, but, his back injuries made him miss the season, after which he only played minor leagues. He is undoubtedly the exemplary one-hit wonder.

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Such one hit wonders may not be known in the history of sports as greatest players; they may not have made it to the best awards, but, their match-saving games are definitely remembered with fondness, and they are thanked by sports fans all over the world for presenting matches with some of the greatest surprises, setting the adrenaline gushing through the body with their unexpected miracles.

10 Most Beautiful Olympic Venues

September 26, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Beautiful Olympic Venues

Olympic is the greatest and the most decorated sports event on earth with its amazing rituals and symbols like Olympic flag, torch, and opening and closing ceremonies. More than 13,000 athletes participate in the 33 different sports with more than 400 events in modern Olympics. The Olympics was started by the ancient Greeks in 776 BC in Olympia as a competition among representatives of city-states. According to Greek mythology, Herakles, with his four brothers, raced at Olympia to entertain the newborn Zeus and crowned Zeus with an olive leaf wreath which is still the signature crown of modern Olympics. The four brothers are the main reason of the four years interval between each Olympic Games. Modern Olympic games were started in 1896 under the supervision of IOC and from that time it continued its journey to different countries as the host of modern Olympic Games. The stadiums used for Olympics since it was first started were the best on the planet to appropriately honor the greatest show, so here is the list of 10 most beautiful Olympic venues.

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10 Most Beautiful Olympic Venues

London Aquatics Centre

The indoor swimming facility in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at Stratford, London, is called the London Aquatics Centre which hosted 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics. It will also host the FINA Diving World Series 2014 and the European Aquatics Championships 2016. It was designed by architect ZahaHadid in 2004 who also won the Pritzker Prize, and the construction of the center was done by the Balfour Beatty. The design of the aquatics center is inspired by the Dollan Aqua Centre in Scotland and features two 160-foot swimming pools and an 82-foot diving pool. The London Aquatics Centre is 520 feet long, 260 feet wide and 148 feet in height, and its wave-like roof covers 11,200 square feet. The construction cost of this stadium is an estimated $445 million and was completed in July 2011 with the final capacity of 17,500.

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Coca-Cola Beatbox Pavilion

The Coca-Cola Beatbox Pavilion was the showcasing venue for the 2012 London Olympic Games and is regarded as the best experimental fusion of sports, music and architecture. Coca-Cola developed this pavilion as a signature of their global campaign for 2012 London Olympic called Move to the Beat which aims to bring young spectators to the Olympic venues while mixing their passion for music and sports. It was designed by Asif Khan and PernillaOhrstedt and was opened to the public on 27 July 2012. The pavilion was covered with 200 interlocking ETFE cushions which are red and white in color and can create an interactive sound. The most amazing fact about this pavilion is that the visitors can play the whole pavilion like a musical instrument and mix five soundtracks of Coca-Cola Olympic anthem ‘Anywhere in the World’ by Mark Ronson.

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Beijing National Stadium

Beijing National Stadium is located in Olympic Green complex, China, and famously known as the Bird’s Nest. It was used as the main venue for 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and Paralympics. Along with the sports events, the Beijing National Stadium also hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of 2008 Olympic. After a bidding process with 13 final submissions, the stadium’s design was finally made by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron with the help of project architect Stefan Marbach and Chinese artist Ai Weiwei as the artistic consultant. The final construction cost of this stadium was $428 million, and the stadium was officially opened for public on 28 June 2008. The stadium was originally designed with the capacity of 100,000 people but was reduced to 91,000 during a simplification of the design.

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Montreal Olympic Stadium

The Montreal Olympic Stadium is located in in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Canada and was nicknamed “The Big O” for its giant doughnut-shape roof. It is also called as “The Big Owe” as a to reference the astronomical construction cost of 770 million Canadian dollars that summed up to 1.47 billion Canadian dollars after modifications and repairs. It was primarily developed as the main venue of the 1976 Montreal Olympics and later became the home of Montreal’s football and baseball teams. The world’s tallest inclined tower called the Montreal Tower that stands 574 feet is located on the north base of the stadium. The stadium was designed by French architect Roger Taillibert and is widely considered as a masterpiece of Organic Modern architecture. The seating capacity of this stadium is 65,255.

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Beijing National Aquatics Center

The National Aquatics Center of China is located in Beijing and was nicknamed the Water Cube for its amazing architecture which resembles a water cuboid. After having ten proposals in an international architectural competition for the aquatic center project, it was finally designed and developed by Australian architecture firm PTW Architects with the help of Arup international engineering group, CSCEC and CCDI of Shanghai. It was opened officially for public on January 28, 2008, for the Olympic and officially reopened on August 8, 2010, after half of the center was redesigned as a water park. It covers a total land surface of 65,000 square meters with the seating capacity of 17,000. It was named the Project of the Year 2008 by the Australian Institute of Project Management. As an interesting fact, 2008 Olympic Swimmers broke 25 world records while participating on the Water Cube.

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Olympiastadion Munich

The Olympiastadion is located at the heart of the Olympiapark München in Munich, Germany and considered as the revolutionary architectural project for its time. It was used as the main venue for the 1972 Munich Olympics and later also hosted the 1974 FIFA World Cup Final, the Euro ’88 Final and the European Cup Finals three times. It was also the home ground of FC Bayern Munich before they moved into the Allianz Arena. It was designed by German architect GüntherBehnisch and the engineer Frei Otto with a seating capacity of 80,000 which was now reduced to 69,250 after modifications. The official motto of this stadium is Die HeiterenSpiele which means The Happy Games. Besides hosting sports events, it also hosted many open-air concerts of various artistes which include Michael Jackson, U2, Coldplay, Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica and many others.

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Basketball Arena London

The Basketball Arena is located in the Olympic Park in Stratford, London and was designed to be fully recyclable. It was used as the main venue for the basketball events at the 2012 London Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The arena is 115 meter long, 100 meter wide and 35 meter roof height. It was designed by the Wilkinson Eyre Architects & KSS Design Group, and the construction was developed by Barr Construction. The lighting and color‐changing effects for the evening games were designed by United Visual Artists. The construction cost of this project was estimated $ 62.5 million, and it has the seating capacity of 12,000 for basketball and handball, and 10,000 for wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball. The construction of the basketball arena was started in October 2009 and was opened officially for public in June 2011.

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London Velopark

The state-of-the-art Olympic velodrome is located at the northern half of the Olympic Park in Stratford, England, and considered as the most beautiful velodrome ever built. It was used as the main venue for the cycling events at the 2012 London Summer Olympics and Paralympics. It was designed by London based architect firm Hopkins Architects and was constructed by the Expedition Engineering Ltd and Schlaichbergermann partner. The roof of this velodrome is 22 meter high and resembles the shape of ‘Pringle’ potato chip. Along with the velodrome with Siberian pine surface, the complex has a BMX racing track, a mountain bike track and a one-mile road course. The construction cost of this project was estimated £105 million, and it has a seating capacity of 6,000 for all the events.

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Athens Olympic Sports Complex

The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens or OACA is located at Marousi city, Athens, Greece, and features five major venues and many other supplementary sports facilities. It is also known as the Spiros Louis which was named after Spyridon Louis who won the first modern-day Olympic marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics called Games of the I Olympiad in Greece. It was used as the main venue for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games after extensive renovation but before that, it also hosted the 1991 Mediterranean Games and the 1997 World Championship in Athletics. Currently, the complex is also used as the home ground of Panathinaikos FC and AEK Athens FC. It was redesigned by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava for the Olympic and mainly features a stadium, indoor hall, aquatic center, velodrome and a tennis center.

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Yoyogi National Gymnasium

Yoyogi National Gymnasium is located at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan and famous for its amazing suspension roof design. It was used as the main venue for the swimming and diving events at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and will also host the handball events at the 2020 Japan Summer Olympics after extensive renovation. Besides Olympics, it also hosted the 2010 World Judo Championships and 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championship. It was designed by KenzoTange with 9,079 stand seats, 4,124 arena seats and 88 royal boxes. The construction was started in February 1963 and officially opened for public in October 1964. The design of this gymnasium was the main inspiration behind 1972 Munich Olympic Stadium designed by Thomas Jefferson Medal winner German architect Frei Otto.

Many other state-of-the-art stadiums are already in their construction phase, waiting to be used as the venues of 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Rio will be the first South American city to host an Olympic with 35 competition venues in Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, Deodoro and Maracanã. Estádio Olímpico João Havelange or simply with its nickname Engenhão will be one of the most spectacular stadium to host the events in Rio Olympic.