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By Bart Icles, February 7, 2010 9:21 am

There he was hanging from the tree. The neck strap had caught on a branch as he fell. It snapped his fall to a sudden stop. His body slammed into the tree, swinging from the strap. Whew, good thing “he” is only your $300 Nikon binoculars. It is too bad the binoculars are broken. The good news, it wasn’t around your neck. Why did you take them off anyway? Was your neck sore? Were the binoculars in your way again? With a Nikon Prostaff binocular harness, both you and the binoculars would have survived the day.

How many of us have removed our binoculars and either laid them down, or hung them from an outcropping on the tree? Admit it, you have probably done it. A neck strap is not very comfortable. The binoculars get in the way when you lean over to grab your thermos. Once you get frustrated dealing with them, you take them off. When you are wearing a properly adjusted binoculars harness you would just wear the binoculars all day. They would be comfortable. The binoculars would stay out of the way. No need to look for that “safe” hanger for your binoculars.

While you were in the tree, did you see the 10-point buck on the horizon? If you binoculars are hanging from the tree, or sitting on the stand, probably not. If they were hanging on your binocular harness strap you would have quick access, and would have seen the buck.

Using a bino harness is not just about convenience and comfort, it really can be an issue of safety. There is less opportunity to get your strap caught on an obstacle when it is remains safely against your body. With a neck strap you have a loose swinging strap hunting for a place to get caught. Most times the strap just gets in the way, but even that is a safety concern. When you are climbing into a tree stand you do not need anything impeding your climb. The binoculars on a harness are out of the way, and your hands and arms are free for the climb.

You remember how you loved using your binoculars when you first bought them. Then after a few outings you started mumbling about them being a hassle to haul around. You can have the old feeling back when you keep them in the right place, and ready for action. No more binoculars flying from trees, only safe, enjoyable spotting of game on the move.

At MyBinocularHarness.com you can find a binocular strap harness and much more.

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By Anthony Carter,

If you are into war games then you are most likely going to find the airsoft guns the best bang for your buck, so to speak. Realistic, life like guns that fire small but safe projectiles that reduce the injury rate of BB guns or paintball guns. These are becoming the main staple for war gamers. Unless the gun is fired at very close range, these are the safe version for gaming all over the woods or in the fields.

Using your tactical experience and your ability to put together defensive and offensive plans with your team will come together to determine the outcome of the game. The realism of the gun adds to its accuracy. Once you get a handle on how far your gun will fire you will be able to fire with greater accuracy.

Using airsoft guns to play a safer war game is not the same thing as replacing your paintball gun with an air pump BB gun. In fact, these days you can get a BB gun in the airsoft version for safer and property friendly toy guns. An air pump BB gun can still do quite a bit of damage when fired at car windows, animals, and even people. Airsoft guns are not the upgraded version but a safer way to play.

Whether you choose the spring loaded, the gas charged, or the electric charged version, you are buying a newly accepted form of play gun. These simulated weapons have been around for a long time, and they are far from newly developed, but they are newly accepted throughout the war gaming community.

Gas powered guns deliver a high degree of power and simple component use that makes them the prime gun for the serious weekend warrior. Usually filled with an environmentally friendly gas element, there is a charge time needed to power up the gun before the beginning of the game.

These are more expensive airsoft guns than the spring loaded version, but they also don’t require loading for each and every round. They do have a poor reputation of reliability when the temperature drops. Some people have reported problems as warm as 50 degrees. Others have found that the gun delivers more than reasonable reliability in climates where frigid temperatures are rare.

You can have a lot of fun playing war games and practicing your tactical skills over the weekend, but remember that these guns look like replicas of the real version. Simply using some common sense will keep all of us out in the woods keeping the war games alive and well. Those who ignore common sense courtesies as well as laws risk the fun for all of us.

Airsoft guns are replacing the BB gun as well as the paintball gun, which naturally extends their use for target practice no matter which version you choose. While the safety measures have been received successfully by many war game enthusiasts, the realism of the gun is prime, and the various price ranges allow war gamers to play on almost any budget.

Author: Anthoy Carter enjoys the sport of airsoft and is very knowlegdeable about airsoft guns. Go to this website to find the best place to find airsoft guns.

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By Ross Everett, February 6, 2010 8:53 am

South America will host the Summer Olympic Games for the first time in 2016, as Rio De Janeiro, Brazil was awarded the honor on Friday. Rio beat out the US choice of Chicago, Illinois along with Tokyo, Japan and Madrid, Spain to earn the right to host the games. Despite a high pressure effort from the American power elite–ncluding President Barak Obama and TV gabfest queen Oprah Winfrey–Chicago was the first city eliminated from contention. Tokyo was the next to go, before Rio got the nod over Madrid in the final round of balloting.

Bookmakers offered odds on the host city choice, with Rio listed as second favorite at +200. Chicago had been the wagering favorite at most books, particularly after President Obama got involved personally in the US bid effort. Chicago was bet as high as a -300 favorite, while Madrid and Tokyo were priced in the +250 range. Some suggest that Tokyo didnt deserve to have such short odds, but was the beneficiary of regional pride from the notoriously enthusiastic betting population of Japan.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, got the better of his US counterpart Barack Obama The Brazilian leader stressed the unfairness that South America had never hosted the games in his speech to the committee;

“It is a time to address this imbalance. It is time to light the Olympic cauldron in a tropical country.”

The Olympic committee was apparently swayed by this presentation and paid no mind to Rios many downsides. It is without a doubt the most dangerous of the finalist cities, where drug cartels and armed bands of thugs roam without impunity. Well do to Rio citizens are used to removing watches and jewelry before they drive anywhere lest they be targeted by carjacking brigands. Rios murder rate is also one of the highest in the world. Brazilian bid officials have stressed that security will be a priority at the games and it better be lest the Olympics turn into a bloodbath. For the time being, however, the mood in Rio was one of celebration with over 50,000 residents dancing and partying in the streets.

Some IOC members suggested that the summary dismissal of Chicagos bid was more of a rebuke of the notoriously corrupt USOC. The last two Olympics held in the US were tainted by crime and corruption. The’96 Atlanta Olympics were disrupted by a terrorist bombing, while the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games were marred by a well known bribery and corruption scandal. Some suggested that US President Obama’s quick and perfunctory visit was taken as more of an insult by the delegates than anything else.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

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By Ross Everett,

The Columbus Blue Jackets learned a valuable lesson about NHL hockey on Friday night-it’s dangerous to ’sit on a lead’ and particularly against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Down 3-1, Pittsburgh tied the game late in the third period as Ruslan Fedotenko and Alex Goligoski each lit the lamp with less than three minutes remaining. After a scoreless overtime period, Sidney Crosby scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Penguins an improbable 4-3 victory. It was the 9th win in ten games for Pittsburgh, who are a perfect 6-0-0 on the road. Columbus lost for the fifth time in six games.

NHL hockey betting enthusiasts cashed wagers on the road underdog Penguins, but on the moneyline at +117 and the puckline. Pittsburgh has gotten off to a great start this year, going 11-2-0 in the first month of the season. Columbus is struggling to stay above .500 at 6-5-1. The 7 combined goals scored went OVER the posted total of 5′. The Blue Jackets have gone OVER in 7 of 12 games this season.

Crosby’s game winning score in overtime wasn’t exactly the stuff of highlight reels, with the puck barely trickling over the line:

“It was kind of a fluky. The puck kept going. I don’t know if he lost it or he didn’t know where it was or whatever. I just tried a quick shot. I thought he had the save there. It just trickled in.”

Jackets’ goalie Steve Mason gave this version of events:

“It hit my stick and I didn’t get it settled until it was over the line. It just trickled over and I was too late on it.”

Penguins’ left winger Chris Kunitz scored a shorthanded goal and praised the leadership abilities of team captain Crosby:

“It shows a lot of character from our captain. He goes out and he’s never quitting on anything. Sometimes a team goes packing, down by two with 3 minutes left. But he goes out, he’s on the bench, he’s saying, ‘Let’s get the next one.’ So we go out there and he finds himself the puck and he gets it to Goligoski, he gets a great shot and puts it in the net to get us to overtime.”

Columbus’ Rick Nash suggested that his team is having trouble ‘closing out’ games:

“We’re not closing games. We got the lead in a lot of the games already and just can’t seem to close it out. They are the defending Stanley Cup champions. You can tell why they’re such a good team. We are a team that needs to learn how to play with the lead.”

Pittsburgh will host Minnesota on Saturday night before heading to southern California next week for games against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks. Columbus will play at Washington on Sunday before hosting the San Jose Sharks next Wednesday. That’ll be followed by a game in Atlanta against the Thrashers the next night.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

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By Ross Everett,

The retirement and un-retirement of Brett Favre is becoming an annual rite of the NFL preseason, and this year is no different. A few months after retiring from football after playing last season with the New York Jets, The Gunslinger is back in the NFL. This year he’ll be slinging balls for the Minnesota Vikings, who’ll pay Favre $12 million bucks if he’s on the opening day roster.

Favre made his announcement at a Tuesday press conference:

“I felt I did everything I possibly could do to get where I need to be. You’re 39, your arm may not feel like it did at 21. But the pieces are in place that you don’t have to do that much and I agree with that. If they were willing to take that chance, I was, too. I don’t know how I’ll feel a year from now, five years from now, but I didn’t want to say what if.

The Vikings will pay Favre $12 million this season and $13 million next season. If he makes the opening day roster in either year, he gets the full amount of the contract though the payments themselves will be deferred. If his level of play isn’t up to par, or should he get injured in training camp the Vikings are still on the hook for $6 million.

Favres mother was even asked for her comment by the Biloxi, MS newspaper. Bonita Favre gave her thoughts on the matter:

“I have mixed emotions, but I have always loved to watch him play. This time, however, I thought he would stay retired and stay home. I guess he could not do it. They Minnesota seem to have a good team in place, and he liked that. I guess I need to get a Vikings jersey now.”

Favre initially decided to not return to the NFL due to a torn rotator cuff suffered last season. After consulting with noted sports physician James Andrews, he had a change of heart:

“I just kept thinking I didn’t want to go through what I did last year. Between three weeks ago and the phone conversation yesterday [with Vikings coach Brad Childress], I talked to Dr. [James] Andrews and he assured me it wouldn’t be an issue. I felt if everyone was going to take that chance, I was to. As friends and family has told me, you never know until you take the chance,”

Favre said that he’s optimistic that the Vikings can make a deep run in the NFL playoffs:

“I felt from my standpoint that I could offer some experience and leadership, and I have to admit through this whole process after I said no three weeks ago, sometimes I was OK with it, and other times I said. I can really help this team.”

Favre will wear his iconic #4, thanks to Vikings fourth string QB Josh David Booty who graciously gave up the number. Booty will wear #9. Viking QBs Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson who were competing for the starting job will now be relegated to backup status.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.