Did you ever wonder which sport is the most difficult to play well?

By David McClelland

If you are a player or a fan of a particular sport, you may consider that sport to be the most difficult one to play well. If you are a hockey fan, for example, I'm bet that you feel that hockey is the most difficult sport to play well. Hockey players must have great ability to play well. The same goes for many other sports. They all take certain, highly-developed skills to play them well.

I haven't played or even watched all of the many sports played around the world, but, to me, golf is the most complex and difficult sport to play well of those I have seen. It has the largest and most complex playing areas, by far the smallest target, the greatest variety of clubs with which to hit the ball, etc. Every golfer may carry up to 14 different golf clubs on the course and the golfers need them all, at one time or another, for various shots from the tee, from various locations on the course, from the sand traps and, finally, on the greens.

Which is the most valuable club that a golfer carries? I think that there is no question that it is one used for the most strokes, the putter. On an average round, the putter may be used about 36 times. That is about half of all the strokes. Each hole has a "par" posted; i.e., the number of strokes that it should take you to put the ball in the cup, assuming that you are an accomplished player. They call those players, "scratch golfers," because if the par for the course is 72, that player would shoot about 72 on the average. Contained within that par number on each hole are two strokes just for putts. If it is a par 3 hole, it is assumed that you can drive the ball onto the green and take just two putts. For pars of 4 and 5, the last two strokes are allotted for putting. Being a scratch golfer is much easier said than done. Most play a lifetime of golf without ever coming close.

There are huge financial rewards in professional sports today and more golf players have big paydays every week than in most other sports, even though golfers don't have playing contracts assuring them of that income. All pro golfers really have to do is to "make the cut" each week to have a nice payday. Those that do that consistently become wealthy. You can see them most weekends on TV.

For the weekend golfer, the game is great with only four disadvantages. Golf is way too time consuming. It may take about 6 or more hours from portal to portal to play 18 holes of golf. It is way too expensive. On most courses, especially on the weekends, it can cost upwards of $100 to play a full round, even on a public course. I think the game is way too difficult. Finally, golf is way too addictive. Otherwise, it is a great game.

If you have a game that you feel is more difficult than golf, you may be right, or you may never have played golf and may now want to give golf a try.

Did you ever wonder if you would enjoy playing the card game, duplicate bridge?

 By David McClelland

 This blog is intended for only those who do not now play duplicate bridge.

Those who do play duplicate will already know all that is contained herein.

To my way of thinking, there are only two card games that share national and international popularity. They are poker and bridge. I play poker twice a year at a fundraiser and enjoy it. What makes it fun is that you are betting on every hand. In fact, you have to put money into the middle of the table, the ante, just to have your hand dealt to you. However, unless you are a really good bluffer, you won't win many poker hands, and certainly will not be the big winner of the night, unless you are dealt good cards on a fairly regular basis. The better your poker hands, the more often you win and the more fun it is to play poker.

I have also played duplicate bridge since my college days and believe it to be even more fun than poker. Why? Because, it doesn't matter how good or how bad the hands are that you are dealt. You are competing against only the other players who are dealt the exact same hands as yours. This is by design. At the beginning of the game, all hands to be played in that game are dealt and placed into the 4 sides of a "duplicate board" so that each and every time that hand is played, the East player, for example, will have the exact same cards as every other East player who plays that hand. Say the game consists of 32 boards, or hands. Each player in each of the four positions, (N, S, E & W) will play the same cards as every other player in their relative position. The N/S players stay at the same table all game and the E/W players move from table to table and the cards/boards move in the other direction.

I think you can see why it makes no difference on a given hand, whether you get a strong, average or weak hand. It is the exact same hand the players you are competing against will hold when it is that player's turn to play that board. That is why skill is more important than the cards which you are dealt to you in bridge.

Some people think bridge is just too difficult to learn. I don't buy into that idea. You are dealt 13 cards and must first evaluate your hand. That isn't too hard. The bidding process is more difficult, but not overly so. It just takes practice to learn the game. The play of the hand by the successful bidder is challenging and makes the game and fun to learn. Then, when you begin to play duplicate, it is even more  fun.

There are bridge books aplenty to assist the beginner and I urge you to try the game.The American Contract Bridge League has an online service to assist you. Go to:www.acbl.org/LearnToPlayBridge.  

Did you ever wonder just how faithful the geyser, "Old Faithful," is?

By David McClelland

Our National Parks began in 1872 with the opening of Yellowstone which covers portions of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming and is a massive 2,219,790.71 acres. This Park has 4 mountain ranges and 60 mammal species. There are hot springs and geysers with Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring being the best known. The next two National Parks to open were Sequoia and Yosemite in 1890 in California. New National Parks must be approved by an act of the U.S. Congress. The newest National Park is Great Sand Dunes, established in 2004 in Colorado.

As stated above, Old Faithful is the best known of the geysers at Yellowstone. It is a cone geyser located in Wyoming. It was named in 1870 during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition and was the first geyser in the park to receive a name.

The geyser, as well as nearby Old Faithful Inn, is part of the Old Faithful Historic District. I've been told by a friend who visits Yellowstone every year, without fail, that staying at Old Faithful Inn is a most memorable and enjoyable experience. The beauty of the entire park is amazing and it could take many visits to see it all.

Old Faithful's eruptions can shoot up to 8,400 gallons of boiling water to heights averaging 145 feet and last from 1.5 to 5 minutes each time. The highest recorded eruption was 185 feet. How faithful is it? The intervals between eruptions range from 45 minutes to 125 minutes. So, as you can see, you can't set your watch by Old Faithful, but if you visit the park, you are sure to witness this famous geyser's eruption at least once and you may watch it for about 45 minutes each time. It is an experience you won't soon forget.

Old Faithful is not the tallest or largest geyser at Yellowstone. That title belongs to the less predictable, Steamboat Geyser, but a geyser still worth seeing on you visit. Grand Prismatic Spring is the other great attraction you won't want to miss.

One other piece of the Yellowstone history. It appears that the park got its name from the Yellowstone River which flows some 670 miles from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in Wyoming to the Montana/North Dakota border. The sandstone along the way is yellow in appearance.

To learn more about Yellowstone and Old Faithful and to actually watch this geyser erupt, visit "A day in the life of Old Faithful Geyser, a timelapse video" at YouTube.com.

Did you ever wonder what Pickleball is?

By David McClelland

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the Nation !!!

Three years ago, most people hadn't even heard of Pickleball. Today, there are more than 40,000 players and that number is growing every month according Bill Booth, President of the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA). It is a favorite sport of seniors nationwide.

What is Pickleball? It is a game a lot like tennis and is played indoors on gym floors and outdoors on tennis courts. The ball is a wiffle ball (a plastic, poly baseball with holes) and short-handled, solid wooden paddles are used. The court is a downsized tennis court and is 20 feet wide by 44 feet deep, with colored tape to define the court, the serving box and the "kitchen", which is an area 7 feet deep on each side of the net.

The serve must be underhand with the paddle below the wrist. The ball must bounce once on receiver's side of the net (beyond the kitchen) and the server or the receiving team, in the case of doubles, must also let the ball bounce once before hitting it back. After that, the players may move to the net (but not encroach into the kitchen) and the speed of the game increases dramatically. Points are awarded only to the serving team. Games are played to 11, 15 or 21 depending on the event. It is great fun to play.

Why is it called Pickleball? The creator of the game had a dog named Pickles which kept stealing the ball during play. Pickleball was created during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle, Washington. Its creators were U.S. Congressmen Joel Pritchard, William Bell and Barney McCallum. Initially, families played Pickleball in their backyards on a hard surface, on driveways and on residential, dead end streets. Since the mid-70's, the sport has expanded and is now played in thousands of educational institutions, parks and recreation centers.

Where can you learn more about the game and begin to play? We in Oakland County are in very fortunate because there are several venues. For example, we can learn about the game and play it at the Auburn Hills Community Center (AHCC) every Monday and Wednesday morning beginning at 9:30. Instruction is available. You can also log onto www/usapa.org to learn much more about Pickleball and see videos of the action.

 

 

Did you ever wonder how cold and how hot it has ever been?

By David McClelland

We have experienced some very hot weather in Michigan already this year. I wondered what the record temperatures were. All temperatures herein are expressed in Fahrenheit. It turns out that the hottest it has ever been in Michigan was recorded in Mio on July 13, 1936 when it was 112 degrees. Yes, that was indeed a hot one.

Where has it been even hotter? Many places. The hottest ever in the USA was on July 10, 1913 at Greenland Ranch, Colorado. It was 134 degrees that day. Glad I missed it.

How about the coldest on record in Michigan? My research revealed that, on February 9, 1934, it was -51 degrees in Vanderbilt, Michigan. Wow!

My first duty station in the U. S. Air Force was in Duluth, Minnesota in the early '60's. It routinely reached -30 at night and once was -54 degrees. I never thought I would be colder than that. Later, while on a mission in Alaska, I experienced -65 in Clear, Alaska. I couldn't believe it could get colder than that, but I learned that the coldest temperature ever recorded in the United States was in Prospect Creek Camp, Alaska, when on January 30, 1966 it was -80 degrees. Talk about cold! Brrrr!!!

Can you recall your coldest and hottest days on this Earth? Think about it.

 

Did you ever wonder which are the oldest and the newest of our National Parks?

By David McClelland

The United States has 58 National Parks, operated by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior. Each National Park is established by the U.S. Congress. 27 states have National Parks as do American Samoa and the United States Virgin Islands.

Alaska and California have the most National Parks with eight each, followed by Utah with five and Colorado with four. The largest National Park is Wrangell-St. Elias (Alaska) with over 8,000,000 acres. The smallest is Hot Springs (Arkansas) at less than 6,000 acres. The total area protected by the National Park Service is approximately 51,900,000 acres. The most visited National Park is Great Smokey Mountain with over nine million visitors a year, followed by Grand Canyon, with over four million visitors.

The first National Park, Yellowstone (Montana) was established in 1872, followed by Sequoia and Yosemite (California) in 1890.

The newest National Park is Great Sand Dunes (Colorado), established in 2004. Did you remember that? The next newest National Parks are Congaree (South Carolina) in 2003 and Cuyahoga Valley (Ohio) in 2000.

It is interesting that that we have been establishing National Parks for nearly 140 years and the newest one just seven years ago. It appears that we may not be done yet. Can you think of a new candidate?

Did you ever wonder how pills know where to go and what to do?

By David McClelland

This question has always puzzled me. I just never could understand how the pharmaceutical companies made all those "smart" pills that would always reach their intended destinations within our bodies and, once there, are able to do their intended tasks. It was truly a mystery to me.

Over the last year, I researched this question on the internet, but couldn't fully understand what I found there. I tried the direct approach and questioned doctors and pharmacists. I could never get an answer from them in layman's terms or that satisfied me.

From what all of them told me, I have pieced together an answer with which I am reasonably comfortable, within limits.

Here is what I think I now know about the pills. We need to use an example to make sense out of this. Let's keep it simple and use a pain-killer. Let's say you have an ache or pain at one specific place in your body and you resort to an over-the-counter medication that is supposed to provide pain relief for several hours. The instructions on the package say to take one pill with a full glass of water and your follow the instructions. What happens next? As best as I can understand it, the pill dissolves in your stomach and its contents get into your blood stream and travel all throughout your body. As the medicated blood passes the place where the pain originates, there are receptors there that absorb this particular type of medicine. I think of the receptors as being like tiny "smart" sponges. If all goes well, the medicine in the pill reaches its intended destination and goes to work and the pain subsides until the medication wears off in approximately the time promised on the package. Then, you must take another pill to again find pain relief. I have been advised that you should take the second pill an hour before the first one wears off so as not to be in pain between pills.

I'm sure a medical expert would find the above an overly simplistic explanation and it probably is, but it is the best I can do. I couldn't begin to understand the medications for more serious diseases and how they work, but I have been told that receptors are at work there too.

If you know of a better explanation, in laymen's terms, please let me know.