Softness of Softball

Morphine Opilio

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Softball is a bat- and- ball sport played between two teams of 9 players. It is a baseball -related sport although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand, softball uses a softer ball compared to baseball and its a faster sport. It was invented in 1887 in Chicago , Illinois, United States as an indoor game.

The equipment used in playing of the game is : softball Bat, softball, softball gloves and bases. The objective of softball is to score more run(points) than the other team by batting (hitting) a ball into play and running around the bases, touching each one in succession (playing offense at that time). When three outs are made, the teams switch positin on defense/offense.

Softball is a world Game that was played in 1981, 1985 and invitationally 2009-2013. It was first played in 1887, USA. It’s highest governing body is : World Baseball Softball Confederation.

softball is more commonly played at a recreational level and played smaller than that of baseball. This is a growing sport in Kenya , one that you can’t miss trying out.

Bike Danking poster

Morphine OpilioDanking.jpgThe Bikers Connect organizing team are set to close the year 2019 with a bang once more. Just like the previous Bikers Connect Gigs, this one seems to attract lots of adrenaline junkies who prefer bike riding as a hobby. It’s all about Bike Danking.  Can you bike dank or you prefer spectacting? Y’all are covered.Show up at Whistling Moran ,Arthi River on 1st DEC and dank! Tickets go for 500/ -adults and 250– kids.See You there!

VAR in football good or bad?

Francis Okinyi

Sports interview on the effectiveness of VAR in EPL

This a conversation I had with Martin Moses a sports journalists with Multimedia University of Kenya and this is a transcribe of the whole interview concerning the effectiveness of VAR in English football.

Francis Okinyi:Martin Moses thank you for joining me in this interview on how VAR has impacted the game since its inception in The English Premier League and has had its conflicts of interest so could you talk on one of that.

Martin Moses:Personally I think that VAR is a timely addition in the English premier league and football in General and it is even used in other major leagues in the world have been using VAR but we have seen that there are contentious decisions but from the foregoing I think that the VAR is a good thing because it is striving to make the decisions on the pitch much better.

Francis Okinyi:Right now we know that VAR works on matters penalties ,the issuance of red cards that are inconsiderate and error prone.Technically it does much of the work that maybe the center referee might have been passed by .Others say that VAR makes football boring what is your verdict on that?

Martin Moses :Yeah ,at the moment it make football boring because if you remember when we used not to have it around in our leagues a referee would have made a decision and that would have gone like that.When the VAR looks into something on infringement so the VAR reviews the decision and makes the referee come back on that same issue.There is the issue of lapse of time and those interruptions makes wastage of time and there should be a method on how to make the game fast.That is lagging us behind the game should be fast ta ta ta and VAR is lagging us behind .

Francis Okinyi:so maybe comment on one of the most controversial matches one between Liverpool and Manchester City what is your verdict?Did VAR take a center role should the referee have consulted the VAR in some of his decisions?

Martin Moses:From my perspective from how i have been watching football yes VAR took a center role and was mistaken in one of the decisions the second penalty incident one that Manchester City was crying for that was a valid penalty and if you look at the rules of the game that is a penalty that is what am talking about .One incident there are giving a penalty and the other one they are not so there is no consistency on the use of VAR.

Francis Okinyi:Sawa sawa thank you for your time Martin Moses and do have a lovely time.

Martin Moses:Thank you for having me.

Who is just Fifa ?

Francis Okinyi

The Federation Internationale de football association is the world governing body of football.it is the highest governing body of football that is responsible for managing world football.Fifa was founded in 1904 to oversee international football competitions amongst nations states.the states include Germany france sweden and Denmark,The headquaters are found in Zurich Switzerland .Its membership now comprises of 211 football associations world wide .History aside one would ask themselves what does this big organization do ?in this article we will look at some of the functions of Fifa and what has been the milestone since its inception in 1904.The legality of fifa is created under the laws of Switzerland .Fifa’s supreme body is its congress an association that is made up of member countries.Each national association has one vote regardless of its size or football competence.The congress meets once in a year ,the congress makes decisions regarding the governance of football across those federations that are within the jurisdiction of fifa.The congress is also important in that it approves membership requests from other federations that would want to join fifa.The congress also elects the Executive committee. It elects the President Secretary General and other members of the Fifa Council.

demystifying VAR

Francis Okinyi

The Video Assistant Referee popularly known as VAR came into use in the English Premier League in the 2019-2020 season.Its use had already been tested in the FA cup and the Carabao cup in each of the two last seasons.It had also been employed in both the German Bundesliga and the Italian Serie A it was also used in the 2018 world cup ,the worlds’ largest sporting event.so what is VAR? the Video Assistant Referee is the use of video technology to make more correct decisions in football matches.VAR only intervenes in the course of a match where the center referee has made an obvious error in one of these key four areas .

First and foremost when it comes to the allowing and disallowing of goals .The VAR is only consulted when a goal has been scored and errors like shirt pulling and any other misdemeanor which is resultant to the goal might make the goal be chalked off.It is worthy to note that clear and obvious errors do not relate to offside,The player is either offside or onside.There is no idea of a little bit offside or a little bit onside and this is allegoric with pregnancy where one cannot be a little bit pregnant but pregnant definitely.A player might be offside even with inches and this would result to the goal being disallowed this happened during Manchester City Vs West ham match.

The awarding of penalties is perhaps the most controversial decision that the VAR is mandated to perform.Penalties can be awarded or rescinded depending on the technicalities of the errors performed.In this case the center referee would run to the VAR monitor by the pitch and make a determination whether the penalty is lawful or not.

violent conduct and reckless tackles can be awarded for straight red cards by the
VAR second yellow cards vests with the referees.

finally ,VAR also handles cases of mistaken identity where a wrong player is penalized and the guilty player allowed to go Scot-free.There is a famous incidence between Kieran Gibbs and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in Arsenal’s 6-0 thrashing at Chelsea in 2015 such injustices could be repaired with this technology.The system is limited to only these four areas to avoid constant disruption of the game.

Softball in Kenya

By Morphine Opilio

Pitcher holding a softball,MMU,during the internal tournament // photocredits: Opilio

“softball is life with volume turned up!” These are the first words that hit your ears once you ask a softball player, not considering the fact that it was introduced in Kenya around 2012 and its slowly gaining momentum among the university students. Brief introduction to my fellas who don’t know what softball is: it is an outdoor game that is played with a bat and a ball and,for the most part,its rules are same as those played with baseball. One would easily mistake the two because they are variants of the same game , though primarily the difference is that in softball, the ball is pitched underhand while in baseball, the ball is pitched overhand, and just like the name implies there’s a difference in the balls.

“We’re so good your moms cheers for us.” states the Multimedia University of Kenya Softball school team. They occasionally chant the slogan to inform the non softball players that they missing out on the most exciting game one would want to play. Having been introduced recently in the country, it’s surprising how it has turned out to be a hobby to a number of people trying out their hands in the pitching and bating intrigues of the game.

“Save the drama for your mama, we’re here to play,” states one of the funny softball slogans. Agree with me that when one hears this slogan, you’d be interested in what the content is all about and this would lead you to terms such as, Umpires ,who are in charge of the rules of softball and control how the game proceeds, pitcher, who delivers her pitch to the batter.

“In my 1st year in University, I was invited by a friend to the pitch to watch Softball being played. Watching the game made my mind clear and relaxed since it required full concentration and engagement. That was just how I got hooked up to the game. I’d look forward to classes ending so that I run to the pitch for some softball moments and just like that, a hobby was built,” says Ms Mwangi, a MMU alumni who has been playing softball for the past 6 years.

Just like other ball games,Softball is a game that requires one to have total concentration and be able to think ahead, hence resulting to building up of a hobby. Softball has been described to be highly addictive and once you get hooked up to it, there’s no turning back. Playing it increases strength to the upper and lower parts of the body. It also improves cardiovascular fitness and increases the speed and agility.
Generally, softball is a good way to stay fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle and just so you know, softball is not for softies!

Sanity on board

By Krop Nereus,

Mental illness is on the rise in this current time and age. With responsibilities piling up, hearts being broken, financial crisis all these clamping down on one person especially the millennials, I mean there is so much that one can handle before they break down despite their age. Living standards is sky rocketing leaving a depressed nation behind. With all the bedlam going on what a better way to keep yourself sane and your blood pressure on the radar than playing ajua which is a type of board game.

Ajua is a very popular gambling game in Western Kenya and Eastern Uganda. Initially it was just a game a gambling game for that matter but it compelled people too and it’s now theraputic. As much as having a support group during ones recovery period is advisable, Ajua has also been the best and helpful occupational therapy since it keeps your mind engaged and occupied. Ajua requires players to use fine skills when picking up the stones or marbles, these are actions that involves both coordination and dexterity.

Ajua needs concentration and focus for a long time so when children play this game it helps in the development of their brains. It develops their logic and reasoning skills, improve their critical thinking and boost spatial reasoning. It literally keeps them on board.

According to an online survey conducted by RealNetworks,Inc., fifty three percent of people play board games Ajua being one of them to reduce stress. Playing Ajua effects laughing and endorphins which in turn can help lower or maintain blood pressure.

A depression free nation is a health and sane nation.

The greek god.

Massu Antony

For any ATP player beating Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic in one calendar year is a dream in the day. However beating the big three over and over again has become the norm for Greek prodigy Stefanos tsitsipas. The lanky Greek is the youngest player in the top ten world rankings at number five. This makes the 21 year old the first Greek to feature in top ten. With a glittering career still ahead of him, Stefanos , coached and managed by his father Apostolos Tsitsipas has already won 4 ATP titles and reached nine finals. His biggest win, the just concluded ATP nitto finals saw the next gen sweep aside all the four players ranked ahead of him to claim the title. His heroics included sleeping a side the hard-hitting Dominic thiem and the inform Novak Djokovic. Left-handed Spaniard Rafael Nadal and the games Legends Roger Federer who are not spared the Wrath of Tsitsipas. Stefanos is stepping into 2020 as the hottest property on the tennis market with a name to convert into a legacy. the onus is on his coach to come up with a masterstroke that shall solidify his grip on the top position in the rankings and throw in a grand slam or two to raise his credibility. Tsitsipas is coming on the back of an array of tennis flops who did not make it to the apex of their promising careers leaving fans groaning with displeasure. with the big four now seeming to be on their way out, perhaps it is now time for someone else to take the mantle and run the ATP show. The future is warming up for young Tsitsipas and we can only hope it gets better for him.

Emery, Bye Arsenal?

Antony Massu.

Unai Emery in a past match.

With the mounting pressure to win games for arsenal, Unai emery’s tenure at the helm of the north London club looks to be coming to an end. hailed for his heroics at Seville where he won back to back Europa league titles with a seemingly weak squad,emery’s coaching career seems to take a nip in the bud at London. Arsenal’s dressing room demons are following Emery onto the pitch. Following an unending string of poor results, Arsenal tactician Emery seems to be on his way out of the north London club.

The Spaniard seems to have failed to replicate his heroics in Spain and in France where he won a handful of trophies with Paris Saint Ger-main. The Spaniard has won only won one of his last six premier league games with losses against Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester city being the highlights of what looks like a woeful season for Arsenal. Emery’s troubles have been coupled with changing room woes. Emery has come under pressure in recent times over squad selection with Mesut Ozil, Nicholas Pepe, Hector Bellerin an Alexander Lacazzete rousing debate amongst fans and stakeholders. The team’s two nil drubbing by Leicester over the weekend seems to highlight the crisis at the north London club. Emery however has maintained that he has the full backing of the club’s board of directors, despite rumors of a looming Jose Mourinho takeover at Emirates.

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