1 . Americans grew up with stories of Fionn Mc Cool, Cuchulainn and other legendary heroes who, emerging from the Celtic twilight, would relax after their great deeds in battle and hunting by playing hurling (ariel hockey) and handball. Great was the shock in later years to hear that other countries such as Spain, France and Italy were also claiming credit as the original home of the game.

Strict historical research, rather than myth and legend, turns up few clues as to the origins of the game. The elements involved in the play ball, wall, players and rules must have evolved in many different countries at different times.

The first record of ball games with the hand is from 2000 BC in Egypt. Their priests (祭司) of the temple of Osiris in Thebes were depicted on the tombs, striking the ball with the hand. Such iconographic evidence is also found in America where ball games formed an integral part of Pre-Hispanic culture. Over 700 ball court sites have been identified from Arizona to Nicaragua, with many having sculptures, bas-reliefs and painted vessels that show people engaged in hand-played balls. The oldest are dated as far back as 1500 BC, and interestingly in only one area is there play involving a wall that depicts the land of the Chichimeca people of the Mexican plateau.

Meanwhile, back in Europe, the Greek writer Homer referred to a handball game invented by Anagalla, a princess of Sparta, in his works. Alexander the Great (450 BC) was credited with spreading the game to the Greek colonies in Italy, and from there it went to Spain, France and to other parts of the Roman Empire. Around the year 1000 AD, as Europe stepped deep into the Dark Ages, the mention of handball became more numerous in manuscripts. In France Jeux de Paume(palm play)became popular with both the nobility in their enclosed courts and the ordinary people who played longe-paume on common land. The medieval annual of St. Foix written around 1300AD describes the game, “The exercise consists in receiving the ball and driving it back again with the palm. The game was first played with the bare hand, then with the glove, lined or unlined; afterwards, they bound cord around the hand to make the ball rebound more forcibly.”

So far there is no mention in any of the sources of a rebound game against a wall, the game played was one of hand-tennis and this is still played in parts of Spain, France, Holland and Sweden. The original ball used was made of tightly rolled cloth pieces stitched together and this would have given little bounce against a wall. Meanwhile, the game of Jeux de Paume with the addition of larger and longer gloves — eventually becoming bats — evolved into the game of tennis in the end. The hand versus racquet controversy was commented on by Erasmus, the Dutch Philosopher in 1524, “You may sweat more but the game is prettier when played with the hand.”

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Should E-sports Be in the Olympics?

The International Olympic Committee and the Global Association of International Sports Federations recently hosted an e-sports forum to explore shared similarities, possible partnership and the tricky question of whether video gaming could be recognized as an Olympic event. Ever since the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris first expressed its interest in possibly adding electronic sports to the Olympic Games program, we’ve seen a growing interest by the IOC in e-sports—“since the youth are interested, let’s embrace this,” said the organizing committee of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

To tell the truth, as a former-world class high jumper, I struggle with the notion of e-sports becoming an Olympic sport. Conversations I’ve had with other Olympians reveal concerns about comparing the physical skill and demands of traditional athletic competition with e-sports.

Given the growth in popularity, it’s understandable why the IOC would want to partner with e-sports. The IOC generates more than 90 percent of its revenue from broadcast and sponsorship. The marketing firm Newzoo estimated last year that with brand investment growing by 48 per cent, the global e-sports economy will reach almost $1 billion in 2018.

What’s more, most Olympians recognize that those who participate in e-sports spend a great deal of time training—even working with nutritionists and sport psychologists to improve their prowess. But is that enough to join the Olympic Games family?

Is e-sport a sport? To answer this question, perhaps we need to revisit the academic definition of sport. While differences may exist in their granular descriptions of sport, researchers appear to converge on three central attributes: The sport involves a physical component, it is competitive, and it is institutionalized, meaning a governing body establishes the rules of performance.

While e-sports can be argued to be competitive and institutionalized, the first criterion is where it falls short. Given the IOC’s advocacy role for physical activity, e-sports seems to be a conflict with its push for an active society. In an interview with Inside the Games, Sarah Walker, an IOC Athletes’ Commission member, explained her opposition, “If I were inspired to be a gamer, I would go home and sit on the couch as my first step.”

3 . Working out for 30 minutes every day “might not be enough” to counter the health issues created by long time sitting, according to a sweeping new study.

The new study, unlike the past ones that examined sitting and formal exercise separately, ignoring light activities, involved 3702 people to find out how those all affected people’s health indices(指数).

With the data collected, researchers characterized people by how they moved. The first group dutifully exercised for a half-hour and then sat, almost nonstop, for more than 10hours a day. Another group similarly worked out for 30 minutes and sat for long hours. But, in between, they rose often and took walks around, spending time in light activities like fetching another cup of coffee. The third group sat, uninterrupted, for up to 10 hours, but also collected an hour of exercise most days. The final group, which the researchers named “the movers,” exercised about an hour most days, while also moving lightly for about two hours more.

When the researchers cross-checked these groups against people’s current health data, the first group had the worst indices. On the contrary, the other groups were all better off and to about the same extent, with relatively improved blood sugar control and cholesterol(胆固醇) levels and about 8 percent less body fat than the first group.

“A single 30-minute, daily workout ‘might not be enough’ to reduce the downsides of long time sitting,” said Vahid Farrahi, the lead author of the new study.“In addition to a brisk(轻快的) workout, we need to move lightly and often, cleaning, taking the stairs, taking a walk in the halls or just not remaining still.”

Ronaldo Luiz Nazario de Lima was born on 22 September 1976 in a poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro. Like most of his childhood friends, Ronaldo began his football (soccer) career playing barefoot in the streets of his neighbourhood. At the age of 14, he joined Sao Cristovao football club and only two years later became the star of Cruzeiro Esporte Clube in Belo Horizonte     1     a total of 58 goals in 60 matches and earning himself a reputation for his explosive pace and     2     finishing skills. His goal — scoring record and unusual quickness led him to be     3     in the Brazilian World Cup winning team the following year. After the World Cup, many top European football clubs were trying to     4     him. Many people, including Brazilian football legend Pele, considered him as the most     5     footballer of his generation.

Since his     6     to Dutch team PSV Eindhoven, Ronaldo’s biography has been one success after another. Two Copa America’s, a UEFA Super Cup, a Dutch Cup, a Spanish Super Cup, and two Player of the Year awards from FIFA, all in the space of two years, are some of Ronaldo’s impressive     7    . On arrival to Inter Milan in 1997, Ronaldo became the idol of the local fans who refer to him as “il Fenomeno (奇才)”.

Since the 1998 World Cup he has suffered serious knee injuries that have severely limited his     8    . Just when people began to wonder whether Ronaldo would be able to continue with his football career, he     9     to the world that he still could play. In the World Cup held in Korea and Japan, the magical striker won the Golden Shoe award and tied Pele’s Brazilian record for career World Cup goals with 12. He helped Brazil     10     its fifth World Cup championship on 30 June with a 2-0 win over Germany. It was the third time that Ronaldo had ever played in the World Cup.

9 . The highlights of every World Cup are the impossible goals, especially the arc (弧线) ball goals. It’s breathtaking to watch. Every spin (旋转) of the ball moves air across the surface, pushing it into a bend.

When a soccer ball flies, the air forms a layer around the surface of the ball. As the balls pins, it changes the direction of the air to one side, says John Bush, an applied mathematician at MIT. This air pushes the ball in the opposite direction. The player starts with a strike on the outside of his right foot, which hits the left side of the ball, starting a clockwise spin. It throws the air off to the left, and the force created by the air leaving the ball pushes it to the right, explains Bush. Thus, a ball spinning to the right (that’s clockwise) will also are towards the right. This force is called the Magnus Effect.

It helps the goalkeepers, because they see uniform curvature (曲度) when players are taking bending shots at them. If they can pick up the spin right, it’s going to be the same amount of curvature, and they know where to put their hands. This is partly why players are much more likely to take bending shots during free kicks when goalkeepers can’t see their kicks quite as well because of the wall of defenders. If a ball isn’t spinning, it does something called knuckling, where the air turns the ball to one side in random directions, causing it to bounce in-the air unpredictably. “It’s usually achieved when a player manages a sharp, fast touch of the ball, typically right on the air valve where the ball is most firm.” say a Bush. Its lack of spin kept the goalkeeper from being able to predict where it was going until it was too late. All the goalkeepers tremble before the kicker that can shoot this kind of soccer ball.