Highlights
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Many Sports One Nation®
Chicago Bears Football
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the NFC North Division of the National Football League (NFL). The Bears have won nine NFL Championships and one Super Bowland hold the NFL record for the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the most retired jerseynumbers. The Bears have also recorded more regular season and overall victories than any other NFL franchise.[3][4][5]
The franchise was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1919,[6] and moved to Chicago in 1921. It is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFL's founding. The team played home games at Wrigley Field on Chicago's North Side through the 1970 season; they now play at Soldier Field on the Near South Side, next to Lake Michigan. The Bears have a long-standing rivalry with the Green Bay Packers.[7]
The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois. The Bears practice at adjoining facilities there during the season. They hold their annual training camp from late July to mid-August at Ward Field on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Bears>, 6 July 2015
Shotkan Karate
Basics, Forms, Sparring; Kihon, Kata, Kumite
Shotokan (松濤館 Shōtōkan?) is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin was born in Okinawa[1] and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" through a series of public demonstrations, and by promoting the development of university karate clubs, including those at Keio, Waseda, Hitotsubashi (Shodai), Takushoku, Chuo, Gakushuin, and Hosei.[2]
Funakoshi had many students at the university clubs and outside dojos, who continued to teach karate after his death in 1957. However, internal disagreements (in particular the notion that competition is contrary to the essence of karate) led to the creation of different organizations—including an initial split between the Japan Karate Association(headed by Masatoshi Nakayama) and the Shotokai (headed by Motonobu Hironishi and Shigeru Egami), followed by many others—so that today there is no single "Shotokan school", although they all bear Funakoshi's influence.
As the most widely practiced style, Shotokan is considered a traditional and influential form of karate do.
Etymology. Shotokan was the name of the first official dojo built by Gichin Funakoshi, in 1936[3] at Mejiro, and destroyed in 1945 as a result of an allied bombing.[4] Shoto (松濤 Shōtō?), meaning "pine-waves" (the movement of pine needles when the wind blows through them), was Funakoshi's pen-name,[5] which he used in his poetic and philosophical writings and messages to his students. The Japanese kan (館 kan?)means "house" or "hall". In honor of their sensei, Funakoshi's students created a sign reading shōtō-kan, which they placed above the entrance of the hall where Funakoshi taught.[5] Gichin Funakoshi never gave his system a name, just calling it karate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotokan>, 6 July 2015
Soap Box Derby
A top Five Sporting Event
The Soap Box Derby is a youth soapbox carracing program which has been run in the United States since 1934. World Championship finals are held each July at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio. Cars competing in this and related events are unpowered, relying completely upon gravity to move.
In the wake of the first car races, local kid auto races took place in the US at a very early stage. In 1914 the motion picture Kid Auto Races at Venice starring Charlie Chaplin was shown in the cinemas.[1]
In 1933 Myron Scott, a photographer for Dayton, Ohio newspaper Dayton Daily News, put together an impromptu race for 19 boys. There was so much interest that Scott arranged a bigger race, with prize money for August 19. "An amazing crowd of 362 kids showed up with homemade cars built of orange crates, sheet tin, wagon and baby-buggy wheels...."[2]
The following year, the first All-American race was held on August 19. The national winner was Robert Turner of Muncie, IN, who made his car from the wood of a saloon bar.[2][3]
In 1935 the race was moved to Akron because of its central location and hilly terrain.[4] An accident in 1935 captured the public's interest, and boosted the event's profile. A car went off the track and struck NBC's top commentator and sportscaster Graham McNamee while he was broadcasting live on the air. Despite a concussion and other injuries (which resulted in a two-week hospital stay), McNamee described the collision to his listeners and finished his broadcast.
In 1936, Akron civic leaders recognized the need for a permanent track site for the youth racing classic and, through the efforts of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Derby Downs became a reality.
In 1946, the town of Mission, British Columbia acquired the rights to the Western Canada Soapbox Derby Championships and the Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce, previously named the Mission City & District Board of Trade, organized the event annually until 1973.[5]
During the All American Soapbox Derby's heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, when Chevroletwas a sponsor and famous TV and movie stars made guest appearances, as many as 70,000 people gathered in August to eat snow cones and cheer hundreds of youthful racer/builders (boys only in early years) ages 11–15 who were the champions of local races around the nation and from several foreign countries. In 1947, actor James Stewart was appearing in the Broadway play Harvey; in order to attend the event, he cancelled a weekend's worth of performances and refunds were issued to ticketholders. At its peak, the Derby was one of the top 5 sporting events in terms of attendance.
Starting in 1993, the All-American Soap Box derby began the Rally World Championship. The Rally derby is a grand prix style of race in which each district, 10 in all, sends back a number of champions based on number of racers and races in each district.
Today there are broader categories that extend the age range to younger racers and permit adults to assist in construction. This is especially helpful for younger children who cannot use power tools, as well as to provide an outlet for adults.