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08
May
2018

The Uses Of Lead In Sports And Hunting

categories: Sports

Many Sports take advantage of the properties of lead.
The properties of lead including high density, malleability, ease of casting and resistance to corrosion, promote its use in both professional and amateur sports.
For water based sports, lead is used for, ship ballast, diving weights and fishing lures
On Land, lead is used sports handicapping, and in golf clubs and tennis racquets.
Lead Bullets are obviously a key element in hunting and target shooting.
This article will provide information on the uses of lead in various sports and information about Nuclead Inc. a manufacturer of lead products and related services.
Ship Ballast
Because of its high density and resistance against corrosion, lead is used for the ballast in ships and sailing vessels.

Lead ballast is either external ballast, which is built into the keel or is internal ballast which can be in many forms including lead blocks, lead balls or lead ingots.

Lead Ship Ballast is used to provide distribution of weight, to counteract buoyancy and to provide stability. Lead ballast is used in sailboats to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the sail. The lead weight is typically kept as low in the water as possible to provide the maximum righting moment that can be extracted from the given mass
Ballast Lead comes in a variety of sizes, shapes and grades; common is Machine Lead which is around 1-4% Antimony content and the balance is Pure Lead
External Ship Ballast
On many modern vessels, the keel is made of high density lead casting, including machined or cast-in fixtures. In some cases the lead keel can be cast in one piece, called a solid pattern or if it must be cast in a split pattern. Lead keel castings can range from 100 lbs to 200,000 lbs., and can take virtually any shape or size.
Lead keel bulbs are often used in sailing vessels, these provide additional turning moment to prevent tipping and allow the vessel to sail closer to the wind.
Sheet Lead can also be used for ballast applications when additional weight is required for wrapping Lead Keel Bulbs and Fins.
Internal Ship Ballast
Historical forms of ballast carried inside the hull were stones or sand. However lead ballast provides a more flexible and easier to use alternative. Internal lead ballast can consist of many forms including lead shot, lead ingots and lead blocks ranging in size from 10lbs and up.
Lead shot is an option for ballast requirements when space is tight. Lead shot is also excellent for trim ballast applications, keel centerboard ballast fills and lifting keel applications.
One piece internal lead keel castings are also sometimes used.
Lead Diving Weights
Divers wear lead weighting systems, lead weight belts or lead weights, to counteract the buoyancy of other diving equipment, such as diving suits and aluminum diving cylinders.
Lead Fishing sinkers
A lead fishing sinker is a weight used to force a lure or bait to sink sometimes to the bottom of the waterway. Sinkers are made of lead, since the material is inexpensive to produce and mold into a large variety of shapes for specific fishing applications.
For example, lead pyramid sinkers, shaped as the name implies, are used when it is desirable to anchor on the bottom of water bodies
Sports handicapping
Horse racing weights
Horses carry lead weights during the course of a race as a form of handicap. Such a race is also sometimes termed a “handicap.” The jockeys use saddle pads with pockets called lead pads to hold the lead weights.
These lead riding weights are assigned by the Racing secretary based on factors such as performances, distance so as to equalize the chances of the competitors.
Car racing weights
Lead racing weights, in the form of lead bricks or lead bars, are used in racing cars to balance the car to achieve optimal performance and to meet the weight restrictions that the car must fall within to meet specifications. They have to take into account the weight of all materials to construct the car: roll cage, engine, transmission, driver’s seat, fuel tank, weight of full fuel tank, weight of half empty fuel tank, oil, tires, the weight of the driver, weight of driver’s equipment, and many more items. Lead racing weights allow additional design flexibility.
Lead in Golf Clubs and Tennis Racquets
Custom golf club makers use powdered lead – either as pure lead, lead oxide or litharge lead (Litharge is one of the natural mineral forms of lead oxide) – to balance and weight the clubs. There is typically a cavity in the head, accessible through a small hole sealed with a screw. Swing weight can be adjusted by removing this screw, adding a measured amount of powdered lead and replacing and securing the screw with epoxy.
Lead rod has also been used to add weight in tennis racquet customization
Hunting and Target Shooting
Lead Alloy bullets
A lead bullet is a projectile. Thousands of years ago lead bullets were fired from slings but since the mid fourteenth century bullet has meant a projectile fired from a firearm. The original meaning of the word comes from the French boulette or small ball because early bullets were shaped that way and used gunpowder (black powder) for propellant.
Lead is an ideal bullet material because it is high in mass, relatively cheap, easy to obtain, easy to work and melts at a low temperature, making bullet manufacture easier.
Since the invention of rifles and higher nuzzle speeds, bullets have been made out of several variations of lead alloys of tin and antimony. The typical bullet shape is now a pointed cylinder instead of a round ball.
The main sporting applications for ammunition are hunting and marksmanship/target shooting.
Bullets with tips designed for use in hunting often use softer tips that expand to cause maximum damage to incapacitate the target and tend not to completely penetrate so that bystanders are not harmed.
These types of bullets are banned from military use by convention. Military bullets usually have hard tips or full metal jackets.
Conclusion

In conclusion lead metal finds many uses in the sporting world today.

02
May
2018

Why sports autographs will never lose value

categories: Sports

In the United Kingdom, sports, sporting teams, and sporting achievement are valued as highly as religion. It wasnt for kicks that numerous famous writers, philosophers, artists and musicians all delineated football as equivalent to a working class faith. Its equally true, in 21st century terms, that the lives and actions of the people we call “celebrities” are up there with our contemporary deities. We eat, breathe and sleep fame in all its guises. The totems of that fame, the autographs of celebrities from all walks of life, be they famous sports men and women or media giants (and giantesses), are sought with enthusiasm as the chance to own and hold something that has, however briefly, been owned and held by a person whose achievements we all hold dear.

The sports autograph has a particular resonance, probably because it relates to an activity that the nation has held in high regard for so long. People who are famous for appearing on TV, for playing and singing in bands, or for acting in films, are of course held in equally regal status but the football player, or the boxer, has been an object of public adulation for so long that the autographs he delivers have become practically cult objects. There will never be a drop in value for these items, because they speak so closely to the heart of the British citizen. There, but for the vicissitudes of circumstance, goes any one of us and so we are fascinated by that small physical trace left on a photograph, on a match ball or boxing glove, by the person who has climbed to the top of the sporting ladder.

A sports autograph written on a match ball or boxing glove, on something that has actually been kicked or used in some way by the player or sports person in question, holds a particularly high value for the same reason that the first edition of a book that subsequently became famous is held in such treasured regard by the aficionados of literature. Sports autographs written on items of kit used by the sports person in question offer a real, solid connection between the owner of the artefact and the person who signed it. Theres a recognition there that this ball, or this glove, was actually used in the commission of the feats that the public has found so inspiring during the persons sporting career.

That isnt to say, mind, that the autograph of a famous movie star or pop celebrity is less valued. Its much harder to find physical objects used by these people that can be sold on in any meaningful way so the non sporting celebrity signature is placed on a photograph almost by default. Celebrity autographs of this kind are just as loved, and offer just as much of a feeling of connection, as sporting kit. Its simply that sporting kit is readily available, and that sports people have been public heroes for much longer.

Any item of sports memorabilia that has an autograph on it, then, becomes a superb investment for the buyer. Signed sporting gear will never lose its attraction or value and that makes it the perfect way to marry enthusiasm with financial sense.

28
Apr
2018

How Long Has Sports Medicine Been Around

categories: Sports

The idea of sports medicine is actually a fairly new concept. Only in the last few decades has this particular medical practice garnered enough mainstream attention to make it a worthwhile career for physicians. By definition, sports medicine is aimed at preventing injury and illness to an individual when they are participating in some type of sports or physical exercise. Doctors that specialize in sports medicine also put a great deal of emphasis on enhancing the fitness and overall health of the larger population through exercise and healthy diet. It was not that long ago that exercise just for the sake of exercising was considered a somewhat ridiculous idea.

Not more than 100 years ago, the population would often work themselves almost to death. The act of scratching out a living required so much physical exertion that the idea of exercising for sport or fitness would have never occurred to most people. In fact exercising was even looked down upon in some circles. That is not to say that humans have not recognized the value of exercise and physical activity for thousands of years. As far back as 2500 BC, the Chinese were actively trying to prevent disease and prolong their lives through the use of exercise.

Ancient Greeks celebrated athletes and Herodicus is sometimes referred to as the first doctor of athletic medicine. Hippocrates spent a great deal of time treating the injuries of athletes and helping them to prepare for competition. During the time of the Roman Empire, a Greek physician by the name of Claudius Galen actually became the primary doctor for the gladiators. He was responsible for some ground breaking discoveries in the field of sports medicine. He noted the way that muscles contracted and observed that the arteries and lungs worked together to provide oxygen to the tissues.

Like most scientific endeavors, sports medicine all but disappeared during the dark ages. During the 1600s, physicians began to concentrate on what we consider today to be a form of sports medicine. Over the next few centuries, physicians began to pay more attention to the benefits that exercise could provide to the human body. During the 20th century the sports medicine specialty really began to take off. Nobel Prize winning physiologist A.V. Hill is considered by some to be the first physiologist to specialize in exercise. As Americans found themselves with more leisure time and disposable income, professional sports and the injuries that go along with them created a demand for doctors.

25
Apr
2018

Enjoy International Sports Events On Dish Network Channels

categories: Sports

Sports are the favorite form of entertainment for millions of and those who watch satellite TV are just addicted to the sports channels. Abundance of options, great scopes to watch live coverage of matches accompanied by superior picture and sound quality turn drawing rooms into stadiums for Satellite TV viewers. DISH Network, the leader in Satellite TV service industry in US offers its viewers endless scopes to enjoy international sports events. All the DISH Network packages include long lists of sports channels that bring home live coverage of popular international gaming events taking parts in different corners of the globe.

The DISH Network channels in the sport section offer coverage of all sorts of sports events. From basketball to baseball, football, soccer, wrestling and even extreme adventure sports are available on these channels round the clock. Apart from regular sports events, these channels offer live telecast of pay-per view events that are fan favorites. ESPN, Fox Sports, NBA TV and NFL Network are among the top DISH Network channels in the sports segment. While ESPN offers multiple sports programs, NFL is a specialist for the National Football League while NBA is the undisputed favorite among basketball fans. Several alternatives of these channels such as ESPN Alternate, ESPNews, ESPN Classic, ESPN 2, Fox Sports Net New York, Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain, Fox Sports Net Arizona, Fox Sports Net Southwest and Fox Sports Net West are also available for people of different regions in US. Apart from these there is The Tennis Channel for tennis lovers, The Golf Channel for golf fans, Gol TV, TVG Network, Setanta Sports and much more. The option is so huge that you cant finish off while surfing the channels.

What makes it more exciting is that some of these sports channels are available in the DISH HD mode which offers video and output at their best. The picture and sound quality do not only make TV watching a treat for the eyes and ears but also create a stadium-like ambiance inside the drawing room. To ensure that you dont miss the action even if you at at home during the live coverage, you can make use of the DISH HD DVR to get it recorded. Watching international sports events on DISH HD channels are a wonderful experience for everybody and thats why DISH Network is the leader.

Now lets have a look at some of the most popular international sports events that you can watch as a DISH Network subscriber:

Premier League: The Premier League is the most popular international soccer league from Europe and has got a huge fan following in US too. It is the battle of clubs for supremacy and every single match comes loaded with excitement. For football fans, nothing could be more entertaining than watching Premier League on DISH Network. Apart from ESPN, you can catch live actions from Premier League and other popular European soccer leagues on Sentana Sports. If you are a subscriber of the DISH Latino Package, the popular DISH Network international language package, you can enjoy the Spanish League as well.

Tennis Events: Live coverage of all the major Grandslam Tennis tournaments, starting from US Open to Wimbledon, French Open to Australian open are shown on The Tennis Channel as well as ESPN. For high profile golf action, you can tune into US PGA Tour and to catch your favorite basketball team in action switch to The NBA TV.

To enhance your excitement, you can add a special sports programming package with your normal DISH Network Package. The satellite TV service provider offers a wide array of sports programming packages to choose from.

22
Apr
2018

Super Bowl XLVIII Interview with Obama – Will O’Reilly find the Character or paint a Caricature

categories: Sports

Obama says Fox makes a -caricature’ of him – is there no truth in parody?

In the late eighties I had the good fortune of having for my friend, a Bavarian born caricature artist who was formerly the head of the art department for a major U.S. newspaper in Texas. He was going through a Bohemian lifestyle period in his life and could be found daily in the French Quarter of New Orleans setting up to do caricatures of visitors and natives alike.

Black and white pictures were the cheapest, but people were more apt to ask for the full color renderings which amplified their particular features and qualities. My friend was a master of color and shade and the pictures almost had a portrait effect laid hard into the caricature that people seemed to love.

I will not forget the answer he gave me, when one day, I asked him how he decided what features he would accent about a person to produce the uniqueness of each drawing.

He said there were two ways to decide what features to amplify. The first was, to decide for himself based on what he saw and what he heard as he engaged his subjects in conversations about where they were from, their jobs and careers, and other personal information. Very few people trusted him to decide what features he would choose to clinch the drawing. He said that deciding for them, was only used as a last resort, but why?

More often than not when he decided, they were not pleased with the final result. In fact, in some cases they would be offended. Although he was brutally honest in his artistic product, it wasn’t always exactly how his customers perceived themselves. If they were snobbish he caught it, if they were sloppy he caught that, but they wouldn’t accept that kind of honesty about themselves.

He solved the problem of the dissatisfied customer by asking them what they wanted to see exaggerated and blown out of proportion. The result was almost comical and at times – totally embarrassing.

Men with slight builds were depicted with barreling chests and powerful muscles. Women who were not so good looking were cast as luscious beauties. That is the point.

If we look at Mr. Obama through his own eyes to decide how well he is doing or what image he thinks he is impressing upon us, he will doubtless look just fine to most and great to some.

Is that what news organizations and agencies are supposed to do. Should they resort to a party line, a controlled access report or a pile of pre-pandered propaganda to inform us of what is going on with the President? If that is what we want; there are plenty of networks offering just that and little else.

Fox news has some loud mouths self-absorbed commentators and a few outright cornballs in their roster, but as far as the slogan -fair and balanced,’ can meet with any reasonable expectation, they are the only kid on the block and by no means the new kid on the block.

They can motivate without trying to mesmerize, they can expostulate without expletives and extraneous hyperbole. We are not stupid. We know O’Reilly is a hot headed Irishmen who sometimes ought to tone it down, but we are sure he is showing us his real character and not his feigned caricature.

We can disagree with him and others at Fox, but we know that they are trying to offer us an un-impeded view of events as they come down in real time. They don’t always get it, but they never ask those who they are reporting on – how they want to be depicted.

This is what makes our president insecure with Fox. What we must all remember is that, this is the president’s problem, not Fox’s problem, and by no means, is it our problem.

In the first Super Bowl interview O’Reilly kept pounding the president with the now classic, -Why do so many Americans hate you.- Mr. Obama squirmed away from directly answering that question and re-directed O’Reilly’s questioning with labored if not nervous subtlety.

With five years of his administration behind him, that question has already been answered. Now, we can only hope that Bill might ask for an explanation about why it has gone sour and what the president intends to do about it.

If the top dog at Fox doesn’t get all mushy in the presence of the Chief, perhaps this time he will paint the caricature based on what he actually sees and not what Mr. Obama wants him to see.

-And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.- (John 8: 32)

American Prophet.org has since 2005 featured the articles and reports of journalist Rev Michael Bresciani along with news and reviews that have earned this site the title of The Website for Insight. Millions have read his timely reports and articles in online journals and print publications across the nation and the globe. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook