The paradoxical relationship between fantasy football and NFL consumption: Conflict development and consumer coping mechanisms

Fantasy sport participation represents an increasingly popular consumer experience among the contemporary sport consumption alternatives. Previous work on fantasy sports draws attention to both its positive and negative effects on traditional sport consumption. This study investigates fantasy football participants’ perspectives, meanings, and experiences regarding their fantasy football and NFL consumption behavior. Employing a grounded theory methodology, the study draws on literatures spanning from sport consumption and fantasy sports to consumer co-creation and intrapersonal conflict, and combines them with data collection and analysis. The outcome is a new organizing framework that illustrates why there is conflict between fantasy and favorite team fandom and how fantasy sport participants cope with this conflict. First, the study illustrates that this conflict stems from the non-traditional co-creation opportunities inherent in the empowering fantasy sports experience, which leads to a psychological connection to the fantasy team and players through the feeling of self-achievement. Second, the study identifies various coping strategies that sport consumers employ to manage conflicts with player selection (i.e., safe selection, convergent selection, divergent selection, and impartial selection strategies) and rooting interests (i.e., balanced interest, principal interest-shift, temporal interest-shift, and benefit-seeking interest-shift strategies).     

The relationship between game-based performance indicators and developmental level in junior Australian football: Implications for coaching

Identifying performance differences between juniors at different stages of a talent pathway may assist with the development of prospective talent. This study investigated the relationship between game-based performance indicators and developmental level in junior Australian football (AF). Players were categorised into 2 groups according to developmental level; U16 and U18. Physical and technical skill performance indicators were collated for all U16 (n = 200) and U18 (n = 244) participants of their respective 2014 national championships. Data were acquired from all 28 games (12 U16, 16 U18); resulting in 1360 player observations (568 U16, 792 U18). Microtechnology and a commercial provider facilitated the quantification of 15 performance indicators. Generalised estimating equations (GEEs) modelled the extent to which these performance indicators were associated with developmental level. The GEE model revealed that “contested marks” and “contested possessions” had the strongest association with the U16 level, while “total marks” and “clearances” had the strongest association with the U18 level. The remaining performance indicators were not developmentally discriminant. These results indicate that there are distinctive features of gameplay more associated with the U16 and U18 levels in AF. Coaches may wish to consider these results when constructing training drills designed to minimise developmental gaps.     

现代足球比赛中胜负关系和战术运用的辩证思考

对足球比赛中胜负关系的辩证分析，可以指导教练员及队员正确对待比赛的胜利与失败。对足球比赛中战术运用的辩证分析表明：在训练和比赛中正确把握进攻与防守、数量与质量、快与慢的关系，有利于全面提高足球的技战术水平。     

我国职业足球市场的供求关系

采用献资料和逻辑推理的方法，从经济学和社会学角度出发，对我国职业足球的市场泡沫现象进行了探讨，分析了职业足球的供求关系和各种需求因素。结果表明：供求关系的严重失衡是足球市场泡沫产生的主要原因，只有扩大供给，才是消除泡沫的有效途径。     

The association between watching football matches and the risk of cardiovascular events: A meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

To comprehensively shed light on whether viewing football games is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Electronic databases were searched through 17 May 2018. All studies focusing on the association between viewing football matches and the fatal or non-fatal CVD were identified. Viewing football matches was associated with a higher risk of fatal overall CVD (RR: 1.06, 95%CI: 1.01–1.12) in both men (RR: 1.13, 95%CI: 1.004–1.28) and women (RR: 1.08, 95%CI: 1.01–1.15). Subgroup analysis showed that failure of the team has a higher risk of fatal overall CVD (RR: 1.29, 95%CI: 1.15–1.45). However, lower risk of fatal overall CVD from spectators was observed when team obtained a victory (RR: 0.80, 95%CI: 0.66–0.96). For non-fatal CVD, viewing football matches was associated with a higher risk of non-fatal overall CVD (RR: 1.24, 95%CI: 1.09–1.41) in both men (RR: 1.73, 95%CI: 1.12–2.69) and women (RR: 1.25, 95%CI: 1.08–1.45). Subgroup analysis showed that viewing football matches was associated with a higher risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction (RR: 1.20, 95%CI: 1.04–1.38) in both men and women (RR: 1.51, 95%CI: 0.99–2.28; RR: 1.21, 95%CI: 1.08–1.36, respectively). No significant increase was found in fatal or non-fatal stroke. Viewing football matches was associated with a higher risk of the fatal and non-fatal CVD, especially in male spectators. The victory of team could have a lower risk of fatal CVD. Therefore, precautionary measures should be required for the reduction of healthcare burden in football matches.     

The Magnus effect and the American football

The aerodynamics of an American NFL football during an end over end kick were investigated utilizing a custom rotating apparatus and large-scale wind tunnel. Non-rotating lift and drag coefficients were measured and agree well with previous data from other athletic balls and a smooth sphere. The rotation effect on an American football increased both the lift and drag coefficients more dramatically than what has been seen with symmetrical objects over a wide range of rotational rates. The results from this study can be used to more accurately predict the flight trajectory of an end over end kick, and help optimize the balance between kick velocity and rotational speed for a given kicker’s leg strength.     

Ending traditions: football and the study of football in the 1990s

John Williams and Stephen Wagg (eds.), British Football and Social Change: Getting into Europe (Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1991). Pp.258. £13.99 (paper). ISBN 0–7185–1410–6.

Steve Redhead (ed.), The Passion and the Fashion: Football Fandom in the New Europe (Aldershot: Arena, 1993). Pp.205. £29.95 (cloth) and £12.95 (paper). ISBN 1–85628–462‐X; 1–85628–464–6.

Alex Fynn and Lynton Guest, Out of Time: Why Football isn't Working (London: Simon and Schuster Pocket Books, revised edition, 1994). Pp.xiii + 400. £5.99 (paper). ISBN 0–671–85087–3.

John Sugden and Alan Tomlinson (eds.), Hosts and Champions: Soccer Cultures, National Identities and the USA World Cup (Aldershot: Arena, 1994). Pp.323. £35.00 (cloth); £14.95 (paper). ISBN 1–85742–227–9; 1–85742–228–7.

Richard Giulianotti and John Williams (eds.), Game Without Frontiers: Football Identity and Modernity (Aldershot: Arena, 1994). Pp.381 £35.00 (cloth); £14.95 (paper). ISBN 1–85742–219–8, 1–85742–220–1.

Richard Haynes, The Football Imagination: The Rise of Football Fanzine Culture (Aldershot: Arena, 1995). Pp.xi + 169. £29.95 (cloth); £12.95 (paper). ISBN 1–85742–212–0; 1–85742–213–9     

European football clubs and football betting among the youths in Nigeria

European football clubs are very popular social realities in Nigeria. Their existence and activities shape social relations, process and outcomes of well-being as well as socio-economic and policy orthodoxies. Unfortunately, social trajectories of well-being, economic ramifications and policies remain poorly understood in Nigeria. What some people are aware of is the popularity of the clubs and not the intensification of associated implications and policy remits in existential environments of their social spaces. This is particularly important as the domains of European football clubs’ presence in developing countries, especially Nigeria, are largely nascent and haphazard. Against this background, this article examined the phenomenon of football betting as an ancillary of European football clubs’ presence among the youths in Nigeria. This article makes important contribution to understanding of ways European football identities are interlinked to the increased popularity of betting syndicates especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Research questions engaged include; what is the pattern involved in football betting among the youths? What are the factors facilitating football betting among the youths and What are the perceived developmental implications relative to well-being and social health in Nigeria? The Social Exchange theoretical tradition was adopted as theoretical framework. Data collection triangulated quantitative method (questionnaires) and qualitative methods. Relevant findings were made and valid conclusions were reached and presented in this article.     

奥林匹克运动与政治的关系

奥林匹克运动作为当今世界规模最大的社会活动，与政治有着不解之缘。在中国申奥成功后，全面了解奥林匹克与政治的关系，正确认识奥林匹克与政治发生关系的背景和历史，深刻分析奥林匹克与政治关系的渊源和特征，科学引进并正确发挥奥林匹克的政治作用和功能，努力促进奥林匹克运动在中国的健康发展，既是现实需要，也具有理论创新意义。     

论足球运动员足球意识的培养

培养是球运动员的足球意识是提高足球运动竞技水平的关键,本文着重探讨了足球运动员足球意识的培养并对 技战术训练和意志品质的训练方法进行了讨论,提出切实可行的实施方案.     

Science and football: a review of applied research in the football codes

Over the last two decades there has been a growth in research directly related to football. Although most of this research is focused on soccer (association football), there has been a steady increase in publications related to the other football codes. There is evidence of more systematic training and selection influencing the anthropometric profiles of players who compete at the highest level. Fitness is being optimized to cope with match demands while accommodating the need for specific requirements of positional roles. There is evidence of work rate being higher in contemporary football games than in previous decades, with consequences for training and dietary practices. Notation analysis of actions during matches is now used regularly to provide detailed objective feedback on performance to players and coaches. Training regimens are designed for game-specific purposes where possible. Sports psychologists working in a football context have a more eclectic body of knowledge to draw from. In the professional soccer clubs, the rewards associated with a successful investment in youth academies have helped to focus attention on talent identification and development models. It is a challenge to those specializing in science and football to contribute to the success of such schemes.     

Relationship between vertical stiffness and soft-tissue injuries in professional Australian football

ABSTRACT

Soft-tissue injuries are common in Australian football. Recently, literature has identified non-modifiable and modifiable risk factors, including vertical stiffness (K_vert). However, limitations regarding measurement frequency and duration exist; thus, further information is required about the role of K_vert as a modifiable risk factor for injury. This study examined the seasonal variation in K_vert and its relationship to soft-tissue injuries in professional Australian football. The mean K_vert and bilateral asymmetry were assessed and compared between injured and non-injured players. For the seasonal analysis, 56 players were tested across two seasons with no variation in bilateral asymmetry evident (p= 0.33). While there were generally no changes in K_vert, the value from the end of the second pre-season revealed 5% lower values than the mean of two seasons (p= 0.02). Considering the injury analysis, 21 lower-body soft-tissue injuries were recorded from 18 participants. No differences were recorded for mean K_vert between the injured and non-injured groups (p= 0.16–0.76). When assessing K_vert asymmetry, the injured group displayed a 4.5% higher value than the non-injured group at the end of the pre-season test (p= 0.03) but not at other time-points (p= 0.16–0.99). Higher K_vert bilateral asymmetry measures after the pre-season appear to be related to lower-body soft-tissue injury in professional Australian footballers. Medical and conditioning staff should consider this measure when trying to mitigate the onset of injury or identify at-risk players.     

Modelling relationships between match events and match outcome in elite football

Identifying match events that are related to match outcome is an important task in football match analysis. Here we have used generalised mixed linear modelling to determine relationships of 16 football match events and 1 contextual variable (game location: home/away) with the match outcome. Statistics of 320 close matches (goal difference ≤ 2) of season 2012–2013 in the Spanish First Division Professional Football League were analysed. Relationships were evaluated with magnitude-based inferences and were expressed as extra matches won or lost per 10 close matches for an increase of two within-team or between-team standard deviations (SD) of the match event (representing effects of changes in team values from match to match and of differences between average team values, respectively). There was a moderate positive within-team effect from shots on target (3.4 extra wins per 10 matches; 99% confidence limits ±1.0), and a small positive within-team effect from total shots (1.7 extra wins; ±1.0). Effects of most other match events were related to ball possession, which had a small negative within-team effect (1.2 extra losses; ±1.0) but a small positive between-team effect (1.7 extra wins; ±1.4). Game location showed a small positive within-team effect (1.9 extra wins; ±0.9). In analyses of nine combinations of team and opposition end-of-season rank (classified as high, medium, low), almost all between-team effects were unclear, while within-team effects varied depending on the strength of team and opposition. Some of these findings will be useful to coaches and performance analysts when planning training sessions and match tactics.     

核心稳定性与足球技术相关性的实验研究

从足球项目的技术特点和核心稳定性的关系的角度出发,选取了44名国家二级足球运动员为实验对象,通过测试表明,足球技术水平较高的运动员核心稳定性强;提高足球运动员核心稳定性对足球运动员技术水平有促进作用。     

The inevitability of corruption in Greek football

From the late 1990s, corrupt practices in Greek football have been considered to pose a serious threat to the integrity of the sport, with a number of schemes and measures being introduced as a response. The aim of this article is to show why corruption in Greek football is inevitable by offering a detailed account of three football-related corrupt practices and highlighting their contextual parameters, as well as juxtaposing them against the set of measures that have been implemented. By placing corruption in football in the wider landscape of the country and of global football, and examining the political, structural and economic factors that contribute to the overall managerial and financial implications of corruption, we present the reader with the new norm which, in reality, makes corruption the ‘only game in town’.     

运动减肥与肉碱的关系

分析脂肪代谢的全过程，认为肉碱是脂肪酸β氧化的底物，长链脂肪转运进入线粒体的载体，进而阐述了肉碱可用于减肥以及肉碱与运动能力的重要关系。     

多巴胺与运动能力的关系

多巴胺主要生理功能是调节躯体运动、神经活动等。脑中的多巴胺合成和分解与运动能力有密切的关系,其含量的增加可以提高运动能力,尤其是耐力运动能力,多巴胺还可以通过调节其他激素以及影响心血管来影响运动能力;多巴胺也与运动性中枢疲劳有联系;多巴胺合成和分泌异常与帕金森综合征并伴有迟发型运动障碍有关。本文对多巴胺与运动能力之间的关系做一综述。     

Mechanical properties of the triceps surae: Differences between football and non-football players

Abstract

We investigated the mechanical properties of the triceps surae between professional, junior, and non-football players. Fifty-nine men participated in this study. The mechanical properties of the right legs’ triceps surae were measured in vivo using a free oscillation technique; no significant differences existed between the groups. The mean results for musculo-articular stiffness, damping coefficient, and damping ratio were as follows: professional football players (21523 N· m^?1, 330.8 N · s · m^?1, and 0.201); junior football players (21063 N · m^?1, 274.4 N · s · m^?1, and 0.173); and non-players (19457 N · m^?1, 281.5 N · s · m^?1, and 0.184). When analysed according to position, the results were as follows: defender (21447 N · m^?1, 308.6 N · s · m^?1, and 0.189); midfielder (20762 N · m^?1, 250.7 N · s · m^?1, and 0.157); winger (21322 N · m^?1, 335.1 N · s · m^?1, and 0.212); forward (22085 N · m^?1, 416.2 N · s · m^?1, and 0.254); and non-players (19457 N · m^?1, 281.5 N · s · m^?1, and 0.184).

Thus, football training, football games, and the position played had no effect on triceps surae mechanical properties. These results may be attributed to opposing adaptations between different types of training that are usually implemented in football. Alternatively, the minimum strain amplitude and/or frequency threshold of the triceps surae required to trigger adaptations of mechanical properties might not be achieved by football players with football training and matches.     

体育教学中体育测量与评价的关系

从教育学的角度，探讨体育体育评价的关系。体育测量属于事实判断，体育评价属于价值判断，测量为评价提供量化资料。素质教育下的体育评价强调体育的教育性功能，侧重于体育的目标评价与个体评价，评价的重点由终结性评价转向过程性评价，突出他评与自评的相互结合。