Month: September 2017

Categories
GOLF Uncategorized

Dealing with Injuries Starting from Scratch SS-17

Remain Patient

We are in the last month of Summer.  The temperature has already dropped, and shorts aren’t always an option.  My last three Rounds of Golf were excellent by my standards.  My ball striking has been good.  My chipping has been great.  I’m satisfied with the way I’ve been putting.  I have kept the blow up Holes to a minimum.  All in all my game is where I hoped it would be about two months earlier than I had hoped.   Amidst all the excitement, and celebration I’ve been feeling the inevitable happens.  I severely pull a muscle in my back.  Not a big deal right.  I’ll take a week to relax, and then loosen up at the Range.  Well it only took about 10 balls at the Range to realize that my back was going to require a lot more rest.  What to do now?  What if all the progress I’ve made is slowly fading away with each day I don’t get out and play?  I’m sure many of you have worried about the exact same thing.  Maybe it wasn’t due to injury.  You could have been on vacation, or were blocked from playing by weather.  It can feel like any considerable amount of time spent away from Golf, can have you feeling like you are starting over when you return to the game.   Trust me when I tell you,  that isn’t the case at all.  The reason I can assure you of that is because every step you make to improve your game is significant.   If you haven’t read my Beginner Golf Focus Starting from Scratch SS-16

I suggest that you do.  Your game improves because you have found your grip, perfected your backswing, know your distances with each club, and increased the number of shots you can effectively make.  These aren’t things that you will easily forget, because it took an incredible amount of time to learn them in the first place.

Change your Focus

Everyone has cancelled a day of Golf for some reason beyond their control.  On those days I’ll make up for it by hitting a few Putts on my putting mat at home.  Maybe I’ll watch the Golf Fix on Golf channel, and see if I can pick up a few tips.  Sometimes I will go over previous Rounds of Golf that I’ve played to see where different choices would have benefitted me.  Would I rather be playing a Round of Golf?  Of course I would.  There are many ways to improve your game without actually playing though.  In some cases your handicap has a better chance to improve if you take a moment to really analyze your previous Rounds of Golf.  Learning where your game is weak, and then focusing on ways to either improve it, or avoid those situations in upcoming Rounds of Golf.  This can significantly improve your scores without experiencing a major improvement in your actual game.  Just by treating long Par 4s as Par 5s has reduced my handicap by 3 strokes.  I was able to identify that approaches to the Green over 150 yards were dangerous plays for me.  It was a far better play to lay up, and leave myself with a 50 to 100 yard approach.  By limiting my mistakes I was able to improve my scores.

Check your equipment

The more your game improves, the happier you will be with your Golf equipment.  Don’t believe me?  Think about how quickly you are at your local store, or online reading reviews when you aren’t playing well.  Hit a few slices with your Driver the last time you were out.  You can’t get to your local store fast enough to try whatever is new.  90% of the time it isn’t your equipment that’s holding you back.  What about the 10% of the time that it is?  If you are sidelined by injury.  Take this time to really inspect your equipment.  Maybe you haven’t changed your grips in a while.  Could be the perfect time to get the whole set regripped.  How are the grooves on your Wedges?  Do they still have grooves?  Are the hosels still tight on all of your Woods?  These are things that many of us tend to overlook during the Golf Season.  I switched from a Standard to a Midsize grip this year, and it made a huge difference.  Take notice of new technology on the market that may help improve your game.  I know a couple of guys I play with that had never tried a Hybrid club before.  They thought that Hybrid clubs were only for Beginners until I urged them to try one.  They were amazed by the versatility, and penetrating ball flight.  One of them immediately bought one to replace their 4 Iron.   Don’t dismiss everything you read about as being some sort of gimmick.  Improving your game isn’t just about becoming a better Golfer.  It’s also about identifying which equipment is right for you.

Even when life throws you a curve ball, and something prevents you from playing.  There are a lot of things that you can still do to get your Golf fix.  You can even use the time creatively to improve your future scores.

 

Categories
GAMING Uncategorized

The Gamer in me GL-10 Best Imperial Assault Allies & Villains

Imperial Assault

The first thing I should tell you is that I only play the Campaign version of Star Wars Imperial Assault.  So my picks for my favourite Allies and Villains are solely based on their usefulness in a Campaign.  I’ve also kept my personal feelings about each character based on their role in the movies separate from my analysis.  If I hadn’t then Boba Fett, and Han Solo would have made the list.

There’s a school of thought when it comes to adding Allies to your Rebel group that the associated Threat cost is too high.  Well the Allies I’ve chosen as my Top 3 are well worth the cost, and very resilient if played correctly.  My Top 3 Villains have such an interesting affect on the game that I can’t imagine playing a full Campaign without the inclusion of at least one of them.

Top 3 Allies


R2-D2 & C-3PO:  This should be the first Ally pack you buy as soon as you purchase the Twin Shadows expansion.  The first thing that stands out is their built-in abilities to keep them around.  R2-D2 defends with a White Die but because of his LUCKY ability, a blank result is treated as a total miss.  R2-D2 can also take an action to heal 1 damage.  C-3PO has the COWER ability which allows you to reroll a Defence Die as long as you are adjacent to a friendly figure.   If you are playing C-3PO correctly then there will be an adjacent figure.  For their relatively low Threat costs R2-D2 & C-3PO are definitely worth recruiting as Allies.


Leia Organa:  This should be the first Ally pack you buy as soon as you purchase the Return to Hoth expansion.  Her Surge ability AGGRESSIVE NEGOTIATIONS  can be enough to win some Missions on her own.  Used correctly her BATTLEFIELD LEADERSHIP ability can help you maximize the damage dealt by your strongest character.  Even the Imperial’s strongest characters have a hard time dealing with five focused attacks in a turn.  For 8 Threat cost Leia Organa is well worth it considering her game breaking abilities.


Lando Calrissian:  This should be the first Ally pack you buy as soon as you purchase the Bespin Gambit expansion.  Didn’t like what you rolled on either Attack or Defence?  Use Lando’s RESOURCEFUL ability to select one of your Dice to reroll.  That particular Die doesn’t have the value you need?  Use Lando’s GAMBIT ability to select a different Die first.  Trust me when I tell you that Lando will give the Imperial Player fits.  Add in his Surge ability to both Stun targets, and become Hidden.  Lando can be a very difficult Ally for the Imperials to deal with.

Top 3 Villains


Hired Guns: As inexpensive Imperial units go.  The Hired Guns are one of my favourites.  It’s all about the PARTING SHOT ability.  Getting that extra attack in when a Hired Gun is defeated can really mess with the the Rebels plans.  That extra little bit of damage can add up over time.  For only 4 Threat the Hired Guns can really slow down the Rebels.  Useful for missions that have a short time limit.


ISB Infiltrators: Once again I’m selecting regular units as opposed to a key character for the Imperials.  I believe that there’s strength in numbers when it comes to playing the Imperials.  Something of note with the ISB Infiltrators is that although they only deploy 2 units.  Their COORDINATED RAID ability essentially provides them with one additional attack.  Being able to become Hidden as a Surge ability makes them a little more resilient than regular Stormtroopers.  It’s when you are able to deploy their elite version that things get really interesting.  The elite ISB Infiltrators surge ability DEADLY can really cause problems for the Rebels.  Negating a Dodge turns one White Defence Die into almost nothing.  Pick your targets right, and you’ll have the Rebels running for cover.


Jawa Scavenger:  This is hands down my absolute favourite Villain pack.  First of all I am a fan of Jawas.  So it’s nice to see them represented so well.  Their diminutive size, and tendency to hide in the shadows is why they were given the TAKE COVER ability.  Although they only attack with two yellow dice.  The built-in +2 Accuracy, with an additional +2 Accuracy from Surge available means that they can fire from a decent distance away.  The elite Jawa Scavenger also gains the HAGGLE surge ability which can really ramp up the Threat level if the dice are in your favour.  If it goes unchecked for a couple turns.  The Jawa Scavenger can help the Imperials bring in some Big baddies right quick.  The Jawa Scavenger is best used in missions where the Rebels are busy with objectives, or seemingly have larger fish to fry.

Categories
FANTASY Uncategorized

Sports Fanatics play Fantasy SF-20 Lineup or Bench

Week 1

Each week I will suggest Players that could make the difference for your Fantasy Team based on situational matchups.

In the Lineup

Sam Bradford QB playing at home against the New Orleans Saints.

Shane Vereen RB playing in Dallas against the Dallas Cowboys.

Pierre Garcon WR playing at home against the Carolina Panthers.

Gerald Everett TE playing at home against the Indianapolis Colts.

I’m not saying that you should bench your early Round draft picks to play these guys.  If you find yourself in a bind because of injuries, or in this unique case a delayed Game due to weather.  The Miami Dolphins vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Game has been pushed back to Week 11 because of Hurricane Irma.  These are potential Free Agents, or Players you may already have on your bench that can  salvage your week.

On the Bench

Dak Prescott QB playing at home against the New York Giants.

Eddie Lacy RB playing in Green Bay against the Green Bay Packers.

Randall Cobb WR playing at home against the Seattle Seahawks.

Vance McDonald TE playing in Cleveland against the Cleveland Browns.

These are all Players I would choose to avoid.  If you don’t have other options then don’t go searching for some lowly Free Agent to replace them.  Just roll with what you’ve got.  Of course you will need to bench any Miami Dolphins or Tampa Bay Buccaneers on your team because that game has been officially moved to Week 11.  This change in schedule significantly decreases the value of the Players later in the Season as well.  16 straight games is a physical Challenge.

Players to watch

While you are following along with your starting lineup over the weekend.  Try to pay attention to the performance of a few other Players that may have gone unnoticed in your draft.

Kendall Wright WR Chicago Bears

Kendall could be in line for a lot of targets this year.  Lets be honest about the situation.  The Bears will be lucky to win 5 games this year.  The only chance that team will have to win games while trailing by who knows how many points, is to air it out.

James White RB New England Patriots

James has already earned Tom Brady’s trust in what should be a quick release Offence once more.  The real MVP of last year’s Superbowl could possibly receive the Lions share of the targets that would have gone Edelman’s way.  Most people believe Amendola or Hogan will benefit most.  Well I’m not most people.  Look for one of the RBs to benefit.  My money is on James White.

DeShone Kizer QB Cleveland Browns

Do not sleep on Kizer.  Having won the starting Quarterback job decisively over Brock Osweiler.  Kizer has the opportunity, and the weapons to immediately make a fantasy impact.

Jermaine Kearse WR New York Jets

Kearse went from being the number 3 Wide Receiver in Seattle to the defacto number 1 in New York.  Similar to Kendall Wright’s situation in Chicago.  Kearse could benefit from receiving a lot of targets when the Jets are trailing in games.  Which should happen quite often.

Good luck to all of you in Week 1.  If you haven’t signed up for my free VIP Subscription yet I suggest you do so.  Keep one step ahead of your Competitors, and make the key moves before they do.

 

Categories
FISHING Uncategorized

The Right Angle RA-12 My greatest catch!

Grass always seems greener

To really understand the story I’m about to tell you.  You need to know a little bit about my childhood.  Specifically you will need to know what my summer vacations were like.  My parents are avid travellers.  They’ve been around the world and back many times.  So as a child summer vacations were spent in foreign lands.  My father speaks seven European languages so Western Europe was a popular destination.  My mother is from Jamaica so at least every other vacation we would make our way there.  Sounds fantastic right?  Believe me it was.  Just at the time I couldn’t truly comprehend how fantastic it was.  When you aren’t even a teenager yet.  Traveling can be misunderstood, or even exhausting at times.  I didn’t appreciate architecture, or foreign landscapes the way I do now.  Big Ben wasn’t too impressive to me after having already been up the CN tower at home.  Spending day after day on the beach was great, but I’d find myself wondering what my friends were doing back home.

The back to school deception

Summer comes to an end far quicker than we always expected.  I never looked forward to going back to school.  Chances are that you didn’t either.  One of the reasons I hated it so much was different from most others.  I hated when ultimately one of our teachers would ask each student what they did on their summer vacation?  Each student would stand up, and give a brief description of the highlights of their summer vacation.  Where I grew up there was two very popular events that occurred on summer vacations.  The first of those was frequent trips up to the cottage.  They would talk about going fishing, waterskiing, and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows by the fire with their family and friends.  It sounded like a blast to me.  The second event I was certain to hear about was going away to camp.  As amazing as the cottage descriptions were.  The tales I heard about being away at camp were even better.  Fishing, canoeing, Archery, and all types of Sports and Games.  Making new friends, and reconnecting with friends you had made in previous years.  It always seemed to end with some grand party the last day of camp.  By the time it was my turn to describe my summer vacation.  Visiting the Louvre, seeing the miniature city Madurodam in the Netherlands, or spending a day at Piccadilly Circus just seemed lame.  My teachers always seemed interested.  Why wouldn’t they be?  I was describing places that they themselves had hoped to visit someday.  Looking back I’m now certain that quite a few of them were jealous, and my final grades reflected it.  Of course it wasn’t my teachers I wanted to impress.  It was my fellow students.  When I tell you that not a single one of them was the least bit interested about learning what it’s like to see the Mona Lisa.  Think back to when you were ten years old, and you shouldn’t have much trouble believing it.

The greatest mistake

After years of back to school disappointments.  My brother and I begged our parents to send us away to camp instead of accompanying them to whichever country in Europe they planned on visiting.  It didn’t take too much convincing.  Sending us away to camp was only a fraction of the cost of bringing us to Europe.  Plus they would have all of that time away from the kids.  So off to camp we went.  Finally we would get to experience all of the fun, and games our friends had been experiencing for all those years!  The camp my parents chose to send us to was called Camp Bellaleo.  This camp offered two week programs, or you had an option for a full month.  Seizing the opportunity, my parents signed us up for the full month.  During my time there I got to experience everything I had heard about.  Swimming, Canoeing, Archery, Soccer, and many other games.  What they failed to include was how shitty everything else was.  Each and every day your activities were scheduled beforehand.  It was like being at school without the homework.  If soccer was scheduled from 10:00am till 11:00am then right at 11:00am it was over.  Didn’t matter if the score was tied, or you were setting up for a corner kick.  It ends now.  The food was terrible!  Keep in mind that I had gotten accustomed to eating at restaurants in Europe, or having fresh fish prepared for me straight out of the Caribbean Sea.  Kraft dinner, or baked beans just wasn’t cutting it.  No one ever mentioned how uncomfortable those wooden bunk beds were.  How I’d be forced to spend time learning origami, or making paper mache masks.  After about a week I began to wonder if all those years my classmates had been lying.  They weren’t lying.  They just didn’t know any better.  Their parents had been sending them away to camp for so long that it’s all they knew.  Including my brother and I, only three of us stayed for the full month.  Watching the others leave after the first two weeks was liking watching your cellmates get early parole.  I wanted out, but with my parents in Sweden I had nowhere to go.  Thankfully the camp counselors gave me a little more leeway to do what I wanted the second half of my sentence.  I loved Fishing, and the Lake by the camp had a good amount of fish.  Instead of the usual hour, I was allowed to fish from 1:00 till 4:00 in the afternoon.  It was on the third Friday of the month that the only good thing I remember about camp happened.

My greatest catch

The Fishing gear that was supplied to us was substandard to say the least.  I wish I could have brought along my $20 rod and reel from home.  Still I always managed to catch something every time.  Usually it was sunfish, but I also caught the odd Smallmouth Bass, or Catfish.  This day was different though.  Fishing with only corn as bait I saw something big swim past my hook.  I saw it again about 30 minutes later, and was able to point it out to a Camp counselor as it swam into some underwater vegetation.  “That’s definitely a Pike” he said.  I’d never caught a Pike before so I became very determined.  For the next hour I kept Fishing the same spot.  I almost hooked him once more when he peeked out to sniff at the corn.  Time was running out.  I only had another 20 minutes before I’d be forced to call it it a day.  By this point everyone else that had been fishing had stopped.  All eyes were on me.  Willing me to catch that one fish.  Everyone there had seen him by now.  In comparison to what we had caught before, this fish was huge.  Even the Camp counselor was caught up in the moment.  When the activities Bell rang to signal the end of my Fishing session I still hadn’t hooked him.  Fortunately one of the Camp counselors agreed to allow me to continue Fishing for another 20 minutes.  This is the time they usually allotted to prepare for “dinner”.  He stayed with me, and it was only about 5 minutes later that I hooked the beast!  As large as it was, the fight didn’t last long.  The counselor had a net ready, and I hooked the fish only about 7 feet from shore.  Every fish I had caught previous to this we tossed back.  This one we kept.  It measured just over 25 inches from the tip of his nose to his tail.  Still to this day the largest Pike I have ever caught.  They asked what I would like to do with it.  At their suggestion the Camp cooks prepared it for me and the others in my cabin.  Honestly it was the first decent meal I had in three weeks.

I did a quick search, and wouldn’t you know it.  Camp Bellaleo still exists.  Leaving that place was one of the single most satisfying days of my life.  I never went away to camp again.  I’m not saying that Camp isn’t for everyone.  It just wasn’t for me.  There are few things from my childhood that I remember hating more.  Still, if I hadn’t gone off to camp that fateful summer.  I would never have caught that trophy Pike.

 

Categories
GOLF Uncategorized

Beginner Golf Focus – Beginner’s guide to Golf

The key to improving at Golf

I’m in my second full Season as a Golf enthusiast.  It was August of 2015 that I played my first full Round of Golf at Centennial Golf course in Etobicoke.  To say that I sucked would be a gross understatement.  I probably shot 140 that day and went through about 7 Golf Balls.  What I will remember most about that day was the great Putt I made on the 12th Hole, and the amazing Drive I made on the final Hole.  As much as I would like to score well each and every time I go out.  Golf is also a game of amazing moments.  Do you think I’d be disappointed if I shot 40 over, but made a Hole in one that day?  It would probably go down as one of the most memorable Rounds of Golf I’ve ever played.  The final score wouldn’t bother me at all.  This article is about scoring though.  In only two full Seasons of Canadian Golf I’ve gone from a total hack to a Bogey Golfer.  In other words I have earned myself through a lot of work an eighteen handicap.  To clarify, because a lot of Amateur Golfers are unclear of what a handicap actually means.  An eighteen handicap means that on my best day I should finish a Round of Golf 18 strokes over par.  On a Par 70 course I realistically average between 26, and 36 strokes over par.  I have a tendency to really blow it on a couple of Holes and that’s why my score ends up being that high.  Playing a solid mistake free Round has become my current goal.

How to play mistake free?

The key to reducing your handicap is the same for you, as it is for me.  You need to focus on the things that are totally in your control.  I’m sure a few of you are thinking wait a minute it’s Golf.  There’s nobody tackling you, or checking you.  You don’t even have an opponent really.  Everything is totally under your control.  Well you would be wrong.

You can attempt to make center face contact with the ball every swing but it won’t happen.  You can attempt to hit a power draw, or a baby fade whenever the situation calls for it but it won’t always happen.  You can attempt to hit every approach shot with enough backspin to have it hold the Green but there’s no guarantee that you will even hit the Green.  Here’s the good news though.  You can control how you grip each club every time.  You can set yourself up with the ball a specific distance away from you, and further forward or back in your stance every time.  You can duplicate how far, and how fast you make your backswing with every club.  You can find the ball that feels right for you, and play only that ball so every putt feels the same.

Small things add up to becoming a better Golfer.

It would probably surprise you how much a consistent grip will improve your game.  Your grip helps determine how your swing will feel throughout rotation around your body.  Swing plane is partially determined by your grip.  Resistance at the top of your backswing is partially determined by your grip.  Club face release through contact is also affected by your grip.  I would slice every shot to some degree in the beginning.  It wasn’t until I developed a consistent grip that I was able to control it.  Any corrections you make before you’ve settled on a particular grip are only temporary.  So first things first, find your grip.   Knowing the correct distance to stand from the ball at set up takes time.  It took me about 12 months of playing to really figure it out.  It’s natural to want to stand far enough away that simply swinging your arms back around you, and then forward through the target makes contact.  Most Beginners, myself included start this way.   Standing that far away will cause a number of swing faults.  Making neutral face (not open or closed) contact with the ball  becomes almost impossible.  The amount of sidespin generated at impact is greatly increased.  It becomes far more difficult to hit out of rough lies.  Standing closer to the ball creates a more vertical swing plane.  Essentially correcting all of the issues I just listed.  It will feel uncomfortable at first because a proper swing will require far more body rotation the closer you are to the ball.  Begin practicing at the Range standing a little closer to the ball.  It won’t take long before you begin to see a significant improvement in ball flight, and target consistency.  If you were to break down a Golf swing into two parts.  It would be the backswing, and forward swing.  Of the two, the backswing is obviously the easiest.  When I first got into Golf I’d attempt to generate power through the backswing.  My backswing was about 75% as fast as my forward swing.  Nowadays my backswing is about 15% as fast as my forward swing.  My accuracy, and quality of contact is probably 5 times better than it used to be.  The faster your backswing, the more likely you are to become unbalanced, or make poor contact with the ball.  I’d rather hit my 7 Iron 140 yards straight 90% of the time.  Instead of hitting my 7 Iron 155 yards straight 25% of the time.  The only thing you really lose by hitting the ball straight, but 10 to 15 yards shorter is distance.  Really though the only distance you are sacrificing is off your longest clubs.  If your target is 150 yards away then just use your 6 Iron instead.  Maybe your playing partner can hit their 4 Iron 200 yards.  Well good for them.  Doesn’t bother me to pull my 3 Wood out of the bag to achieve the same.  Always use the same ball! 

I can’t stress this enough.  The difference it will make when putting is reason enough.  If you haven’t selected a ball yet read my Golf Ball selection Starting from Scratch SS-10

Play within your ability

This is probably the most difficult aspect of the game of Golf for me.  It’s actually the one thing that we are all able to control from day one.  Resisting the urge to attempt shots that I have no business trying is one of the most difficult things for me to do.  Everybody wants to make that hero shot.  If you actually want your scores to improve?  Don’t waste your time trying to hit draws out of the rough around trees to hopefully make the Green.  Do the smart thing and just punch out on to the Fairway.  Playing within your limits isn’t just about trying to make hero shots.  It’s also about knowing what you are capable of from the very start.  I used to attempt to make a Green in Regulation on every Hole.  Even if it meant having to make potentially dangerous shots to do it.  For instance on a 390 yard Par 4 with a tight Fairway.  I would consider using Driver strictly based on distance.  If the landing area seemed too small I would take one club less and go with the 3 Wood off the Tee.  Landing in a Tight Fairway with my 3 Wood is a very low percentage play for me.  Even if I hit a perfect Drive.  I’d still leave myself with about 180 yards to the Pin.  Most Greens are protected by Hazards.  Bunkers at best, water or thick Woods at worst.  Expecting to land on the Green, and stick it close from 180 yards out is ludicrous.  Trying to play a Hole like that would usually go something like this.  Tee off with the 3 Wood, and miss the Fairway left by around 20 feet.  Second shot out of the rough at a terrible angle to the Green with the 3 Hybrid.  Hit it about 170 yards, and land about 30 yards right of the Green.  Third shot out of the deep rough with the 56 degree Wedge.  Hit a flyer that clears the Green, and lands in the bunker on the opposite side.  Shots four and five to successfully exit the bunker.  Shot six is a short chip on to the Green with my 52 degree Wedge. So much for the Green in Regulation right. Finally on the Green I end up two putting for quadruple bogey.  Definitely not the score you are looking for on a Par 4!  It’s taken me a long time but I have finally learned to play within my ability.  The way I play that same Hole goes something like this now.  Tee off with my 5 Hybrid landing on the left side of the Fairway 165 yards out.  Instead of trying to hit a hero shot on or close to the Green.  For my second shot I’d choose to hit my 7 Iron 135 yards down the Fairway.  This leaves an easy 90 yard shot with my 52 degree Wedge on to the Green.  Sure I never had a chance at getting that Green in Regulation.  What I have done is avoid any real danger.  I land my Wedge shot on the front edge of the Green.  Then two putt for bogey.  A difference of three strokes!  Sure my chances at Birdie are close to null.  So what.  I’ve actually one putted for Par many times in similar situations because the approach shot from within 100 yards is so easy.

Do yourself a favor, and focus on the few things within your control the next time you are out at the course, or on the Range.  Your handicap, and your enjoyment of the game will definitely improve.

Beginner’s guide to Golf