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fantasy football pics

All over the Internet this month, you'll find "tips" for first-time fantasy football owners. Boring, standard stuff. Draft a good quarterback. Check. Take a bunch of running backs. Got it. Stay away from any of the Kansas City Chiefs. Obvious. But fantasy football is more than just touchdowns, field goals and avoiding all things Brodie Croyle. It's a social experience, a chance to make — and make fun of — friends and strangers. In a good fantasy league, the message board is as important to the league's overall success as the waiver wire. Likewise, the owner with the eighth-best team out of 10 may just very well be the league's most valuable owner or, M.V.O. Fantasy football is more than a simple game of numbers. Old friends from college reunite through it, family members living thousands of miles away from each other come together, and strangers become lifelong enemies. You can break barriers at work, pulling off a big trade with your vice president. Or you can find the love of your life, joining a public league, and bonding with someone over drafting Steve Slaton late in the 14th round. You know those eHarmony commercials where those two people are bowling and talking about how "sexy" their voices sounded on the phone the first time they talked? That could be you! Only, you'll be arm and arm with the future love of your life, whispering sweet nothings about Michael Turner and the ineptitude of the Atlanta Falcons' offensive line. Like Red Bull or a pedicure, everyone should try fantasy football at least once in their life. This is the year to do it. If you're new to the game, you're going to want to do it right. Follow these 10 tips. 1. Avoid picking a terribly cheesy team name: Fantasy football team names can really be hit or miss. More often than not, you can tell the type of owner you're dealing with based on his or her team name. If it's a reference to "Anchorman," "Zoolander," "Pineapple Express," "Chappelle's Show," "The Office," "Animal House," Will Ferrell's More Cowbell skit, or that Tucker Max guy, then you're dealing with an unoriginal person. These owners are typically sensitive to criticism about said team name, insecure about their first-round draft selections, and quick to deny any trade offer — only to call you up minutes later with a request to discuss further. They have MySpace and Facebook pages in which their pictures feature them drinking from beer funnels or playing beer pong, and they likely have tattoos of their fraternity letters somewhere on their body. Oh, and they never win the league. Never. Other team names to avoid: inside jokes between you and just one other league member; forced use of alliteration; anything with your first or last name in it. 2. Get on your commissioner's good side: At some point in the season, there's going to be an issue between two team owners in which the commissioner will have to play the role of judge and make a final ruling. Whether or not to veto a shady trade between two cousins, or to let someone change their lineup after the 1 p.m. games start because they were at a funeral — the reasons for such disputes are endless. There's a good chance that you — the rookie owner — are going to be involved in one of these. If you're on the commissioner's good side from the start, your chances for "winning" the dispute increase tremendously. How do you get on the commissioner's good side? Several ways. The easiest and least corrupt? Simply commend the commish every so often via e-mail or the message board. Fantasy football commissioner is a thankless job, and it goes a long way to hear a little appreciation. A slow Wednesday? Send a post with the subject "Great League" to the message board, and write a quick note about how well run the whole season's been. Pathetic? Sure. Sound strategy? You bet. 3. Whatever you do, do not give up on the season until it's all over: It happens every year — a fantasy team starts off 0-10, the owner forgets to put their lineup in for Week 11, and some other owner misses the playoffs because your best player was on the bench. Don't be the quitter. There's no quitting in fantasy football. Even if your team is full of Kansas City Chiefs. 4. Keep track of the waiver wire: This may require the most time and effort of your fantasy football experience, but it will also reap the greatest rewards. Every season, there are a handful of guys who were not drafted in August that end up being fantasy football superstars by October. Kurt Warner in '99, Anquan Boldin in '03, Marques Colston in '06, Ryan Grant in '07 — the list of "out of nowhere" fantasy stars is endless. You should keep an eye on the rosters of all 32 teams, and be ready to pounce on a free-agent pickup if/when available. Injuries occur all the time — don't sleep on getting the likely replacements. I once won a league with Troy Hambrick and Shawn Bryson starting at running back in the finals. These things happen! Anything's possible with the waiver wire. Rule No. 3: There's no quitting in fantasy football, even if your team is full of Kansas City Chiefs. (G. Newman Lowrance / Getty Images) 5. Don't pay much attention to the "fantasy football experts" on TV: Trust me. They know no more than you. In most cases, they're doing nothing more than just taking guesses and trying to think of new nicknames for themselves. You know who else can take guesses? Your dog. If the "experts" are not busy taking guesses, they're usually just stating the obvious. "start LaDainian Tomlinson" and "don't Start Quinn Gray" is not exactly rocket science. Ignore those guys. Just trust your gut. After all, this is your team, not theirs. 6. Write at least one clever message board post per week: The message board is the lifeblood of the league. It's the central nervous system that gets everything going and keeps things fresh. Don't be a fly on the wall and solely read the messages. Contribute your own content at least once a week, too. Pick fights, complain about Mike Shanahan's running back decisions, post an incriminating picture of one of your rival team owners from his/her awkward adolescent years. Do something. Stay active on that thing. Make it worth your investment of time. Some of the best laughs you'll have this fall will be from reading that message board. 7. Don't draft too many guys from your favorite NFL team: So you're a Jets fan. We get it. You wear green underwear and have one of those fireman hats. That's great. The worst thing you can do, then, is decorate your fantasy team with Brett Favre, Thomas Jones and Chris Baker. Though it may seem like the right thing to do as a fan, you're only going to hate yourself for doing it. It's bad enough when your favorite team has a bad week — why put yourself through the ringer twice by having them ruin your fantasy squad too? Spread your team members out — and don't go heavy on the favorite team. It's kinda dorky to do that, anyway. 8. Don't blabber all day at work about your fantasy team: The darkest secret of fantasy sports? Nobody in the world cares about your team but you. Nobody! Not your wife, not your mother, and especially not your co-workers. I know, it's shocking news to hear this considering all the ad dollars, references and online stuff you see about fantasy football. But it's true. There's absolutely nothing worse than sitting at a water cooler on Monday morning and having some guy from marketing go player by player on his team, telling you how many points each one scored "for him" on Sunday afternoon. And these horrendous conversations always — yes, always — end with "And I need (fill in the blank) to score (fill in the blank) points tonight in the Monday night game." Do not be the person guilty of going on and on about fantasy football all day in the office. The second that person finishes any conversation about their fantasy football team, the person they're speaking with takes a deep breath and kicks himself for losing the last 10 minutes of his or her life. The only Monday morning water cooler chat that's worse than fantasy football talk is the incessant reciting of lines from "Entourage." Of course, it just so happens that the guy who is guilty of the former tends to be the one doing the latter as well. 9. Don't wear the jersey of your first-round pick to the sports bar: Huge losers do this. Don't be a huge loser. If you're not a Redskins fan, you should not own a Clinton Portis jersey. 10. Never refer to yourself in the third person or by your first name and the word "man" attached to it: This really has nothing to do with fantasy football, but should be a general rule of thumb for life. Follow those 10 tips, and you'll be golden this fantasy football season. You might even have some fun along the way. Hell, you might even win your league P. Schrager

fantasy football
Football season is nearly upon us. You can tell because a good portion of your day is spent reading about how good practice was, as if there’s some special trophy secured for running an awesome route in a 7-on-7 drill. But with football season comes Fantasy Football season: a wonderful bastard cousin of the actual sport. It’s a perfect time to see who knows most in your circle of friends about the players and their affinity for scoring points. If you must be in a league, here are ten rules you must follow to keep your sanity, dignity, and hopefully your entry fee.
10. Everyone Pays. Almost every problem in fantasy leagues stem from money, the only real thing about the game. Who paid? Who didn’t pay? That guy owes more. Steve is covering for me, but I’ll get him back. Everyone’s money is in on day one so you don’t need to hunt someone down trying to get your winnings. That means you, Peter Casey, who still owes me $10 from 2004.

scottish football image

scottish football pic

scottish football

The latest news from the world of Scottish football from BBC Radio Scotland. Get the best bits from Off the Ball, Your Call and Sportsound. Over the summer, the podcast will be available on Saturday and Sundays

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football pictures

females football

I feel obliged to note the upsurge here in Philly concerning the Lingerie Football League (maybe "concerning" isn't the right word..whatever.) News has been rampant regarding the "Philadelphia Passion" joining this one year old league. An all-female football league.

And, yes, you read right, that's LINGERIE Football League. Teams are made up (7-on-a-side) of young women who wear lingerie (actually short-shorts & bikini tops) while playing tackle football. A dose of harmless entertainment for the fellas? Or another sign of the impending apocalypse? You judge. Lest you be judged. Huh?Say what you will, when the tryouts were held here in town the sports media was out in force. A 3 hr. tryout

young football team
Flag Football
Ways to play:
Intramural teamsInformal Recreation
Who can play?
Intramural teams/tournaments are open to currently enrolled UT students. Some teams/tournaments offer divisions of play for UT staff/faculty with a RecSports membership and spouses of currently UT enrolled students and faculty/staff with a RecSports membership. Please check the current schedule for details.
Informal Recreation is open to any currently enrolled UT student, RecSports members, and UT staff/faculty and spouse with a RecSports membership.
Where can I play?
Intramural and Informal Recreation teams meet at Whitaker Fields (WF).
What else should I know?
Equipment is available for check-out and rentals, including footballs, timers, flags, and jerseys from the Outdoor Center in Gregory Gym.

football ground

Welcome To Stoke City Football Years!
We provide information on the history of the Stoke City Football Football club. We look back on the brilliant years as Stoke City Football finished off in fourth position in the first division. They reached the semi finals of the FA cup on many occasions, including in the years, 1899, 1971 and 1972. Take a look back on the classic matches they have played in and the great goals that have been scored by the club. We look back on the finest players to have starred for Stoke City Football FC, including, Gordon Banks, Freddie Steele, Eric Skeels, Geoff Hurst, Ian Cranson, Peter Beagrie, Mike Pejic. We look at how Stoke City coped in the second tier of English football, during the 2004– 2005 and 2001 - 2002 season and how they suffered relegation out of the second tier at the end of the 1996 -1997campaign.

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Top 10 Most Tasty Cuisines in the World

For all the food fanatics out there, traveling is essential, if you want to taste everything the world has to offer. That is why we have rounded up the most resounding symphonies of flavor, the most colorful dishes and the tasties bites. Here is your guide to the fascinating, international cuisines.



Lebanese Cuisine
The Lebanese cuisine is the place where you can taste all the goodness the Middle East has to offer. Foods are generally Mediterranean, high on vegetables, little meat and full of flavors. Perhaps the most famous dish worldwide is the appetizer mezze - a selection of dips, pickles, salads and nibbles with Arabic bread. It also includes an abundance of fruit, fresh fish and seafood and little animal fat. The country is also famous for the Arabic sweets, Tripoli being referred to as the “Sweet Capital” of Lebanon.


Greek Cuisine
With a significant influence from the Turkish and Italian cuisine, the Greek cuisine is a focused around olive oil, vegetables and herbs specific to the Mediterranean region. Eating in Greece is a different experience from Greek restaurants in other countries - gyros for example is considered by Greeks junk food. Restaurants now offer an authentic eating experience, being up to date with the latest culinary trends and stocked up with regional specialties. The Taverna and Estiatorio are widespread, being the places where you can find affordable authentic cuisine.


Spanish Cuisine
For a lighter approach on food, we turn to the Spanish cuisine, containing a variety of meat and fish, as well as vegetables. It is also influenced by the seafood available from the surrounding waters. Spanish cuisine uses the most oil among all Western and Central European cuisines. One of the most popular drinks in Spain that goes perfectly with its national dishes is sangria, a drink made of wine and fruits.



Japanese Cuisine
Known for its seasonality of food, aspect and quality of ingredients, the Japanese cuisine is rapidly becoming a trend worldwide. White rice and soybeans are the ingredients you should expect to find in almost any dish. According to Michelin Guide that ranks cities worldwide for their restaurants, Tokyo is the most delicious city, with 150 top-ranked restaurants, as opposed to Paris and London that have 148. Apart from its capital, it is fascinating to uncover the local cuisine throughout Japan.


Mexican Cuisine
Known for its varied flavors and spices, Mexican Cuisine is a result of the Spanish conquistadores’ interaction with the Aztec culture. Most of the Mexican food we eat today is a delicious combination of ancient traditions, Aztec, Mayan and Spanish. The French also had their part in the story, adding baked goods such as sweet breads and the bolillo. You can easily choose the restaurant you are going to eat in by popularity: restaurants with good food usually attract all the customers. There are also exotic options for your menu, such as iguana, insects, rattlesnake, deer and even spider monkey.




Thai Cuisine
Many people say Thai food alone, with its balanced mix of hot, sour, bitter and sweet, is a good enough reason to visit the country. The foods are characterized by the use of fresh herbs and flavors, such as lime juice, lemon grass and fresh coriander. Similar to many Asian cuisines, rice is the main component in Thai foods as well. You will often come across nam pla, a strong fish sauce, shrimp paste and noodles. If you’re looking to get a kick of out your lunch, you should try the raw beef, fermented fish paste or deep fried insect larvae mostly present in the Northeast, where eating insects in fairly common.

Indian Cuisine
One of the world’s most sophisticated and diverse cuisines, only one part of the Indian cuisine is known to the world. The Indian food served in restaurants worldwide is North Indian, also known as Mughlai or Punjabi. There are other 3 categories of Indian cuisine: South, East and West. The foods are mostly vegetarian, but many include lamb, goat, chicken meat and even fish. Indian cuisine is usually very spicy so in order to enjoy the food, start slowly and in a few weeks you’ll get accustomed to the flavors. Meals are usually eaten without cutlery, while seated on the floor, but these traditions are starting to change for the restaurants oriented to the Europe or the US.


Chinese Cuisine
Originated in various parts of China and now spread throughout the world, Chinese cuisine is now eaten by a third of the world’s population every day. The cuisine is easy to create, economical and tasty. Most of the food is prepared in bite-sized pieces because the Chinese culture regards knives and forks as weapons. Usually, every person at the table is given a bowl of rice while the other dishes are shared by everyone at the table. Some dishes are cooked from endangered species, such as facai moss while others from meat you would want to avoid such as dog.


Italian Cuisine
Perhaps one of the oldest in the world, the Italian cuisine can be traced back to the 4th century BC. It became what is today along with the discovery of the New World, that brought potatoes, tomatoes pepper or maize on the list of ingredients. An Italian meal is structured into several sections: antipasto (the appetizer), primo (pasta or rice dish), secondo (meat course), dolce (dessert). Italy is also famous for over 400 kinds of cheese, including the famous Parmigianino Reggiano, and 300 types of sausages.


French Cuisine
Starting with the Middle Ages that brought rich banquets to the French Revolution, where refined techniques were used, French Cuisine can be called in the 21st century “haute cuisine”. It is as popular as the poetry or French arts, a meal at a restaurant comparing to “a sort of theatre you can eat”. Pastries are a large part of French cooking. Cheese and wine are also a major part of the cuisine, being perhaps the most famous of all. The modern restaurant has its roots in French culture so restaurants are bountiful, but as for recommendation before deciding on one. In Paris alone, there are over 5,000 places to eat, with prices and menus to suit anyone’s taste.

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Most Fascinating Twin Stories

Black and White Twins

A mixed-race British mom, Kylie Hodgson, gave birth in 2005 to twins, one of each — one black, the other white. The odds of such a birth are about a million to one, experts said. Although occurrences of this nature sometimes occur when a woman conceives twins fathered by two different men, this was a much rarer case in which a single pairing produced twins with distinctly different physical attributes (e.g., skin tone, hair color, eye color) rather than a blending of their parents' characteristics. The parents, Kylie and her partner, Remi Horder, are of mixed race themselves, both having been born to white mothers and black fathers. Their twin girls — Kian and Remee — were both born with blue eyes, with Remee having blonde hair and Kian having black hair and somewhat darker skin than her sister. Since then, Remee's skin tone has become lighter, while Kian's has become darker and her eyes have turned brown.



Twin Boys, twin lives

The stories of identical twins' nearly identical lives are often astonishing, but perhaps none more so than those of these identical twins born in Ohio. The twin boys were separated at birth, being adopted by different families. Unknown to each other, both families named the boys Jim. And here the coincidences just begun. Both James grew up not even knowing of the other, yet both sought law-enforcement training, both had abilities in mechanical drawing and carpentry, and each had married women named Linda. They both had sons whom one named James Alan and the other named James Allan. The twin brothers also divorced their wives and married other women - both named Betty. And they both owned dogs which they named Toy. Jim Lewis and Jim Springer finally met in February 9, 1979 after 39 years of being separated.


Twin Sisters, Twin boys delivered the same day

On 2004, twenty-one-year-old twins Ashlee Spinks and Andrea Springer both delivered twin boys by Caesarean section at Northside Hospital (Georgia, USA) at the same day.

The mothers – who did not use fertility drugs to conceive - were 6 months pregnant when they discovered they were both carrying twin boys and were both due on the very same day.

This “one in a million” coincidence is attributed mainly to the fact that not only do Ashlee and Andrea have an obvious history of twins in their family, but both their husbands’ families also have a history of twins.


World's Heaviest Twins: over 723 lb each

Billy Leon McCrary (1946 - 1979) and Benny Loyd McCrary (1946 - 2001), known together as the McGuire twins, were listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "World's Heaviest Twins", with 328 kg (723 lb) and 338 kg (745 lb), correspondingly).

Born in Hendersonville, North Carolina, the twins began using the stage name McGuire and gained popularity as tag-team wrestlers and in carnival stunt shows. Billy McCrary died on July 14, 1979 at the age of 32, following a motorcycle accident during a stunt at Niagara Falls. Benny lived for 21 more years, until his death at age 54 on March 26, 2001 of heart failure.


World’s Oldest Twins: over 100 years old

Kinsan Ginsan was the affectionate name give to twin sisters from Japan who were record-setting in terms of their longevity. Gin and Kin, whose names mean silver and gold in Japanese, were born on 1 August 1892 in Nagoya, 270km (170 miles) west of Tokyo. Kin was the elder daughter and Gin was the younger daughter. Tests proved that they were identical twins, although for some reason they had different blood types.

In 1991, they celebrated being about to reach 100 years of age, and were featured in a newspaper article in which the mayor of Nagoya met both of them and congratulated them. Their health and vitality, despite being over 100 years old, was said to be “an ideal form of living in your sunset years”, and they became national celebrities in Japan. Kin died in 2000 and Gin in the next year, at the age of 108.


Twins with the greatest height difference between each other

Hussain Bisad of London, England who is 7ft9, and his 5ft5 twin sister, Khardra, who lives in their homeland of Somalia, have a 28 inch difference in the height between them, holding the world record for the greatest height difference between twins. Hussain also holds the record for having the biggest hand span of any living man.


Twins separated at birth in Mexico, meet each other by chance in US

Twins separated at birth 20 years ago in Mexico had an unexpected reunion after one of the girls enrolled at a university in Long Island. Tamara Rabi had no idea Adriana Scott existed until students began confusing her with the other girl.

The girls were adopted by different sets of parents in the US. Tamara grew up with Jewish parents on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Adriana was raised a Catholic in a Long Island suburb of the city. But each girl had no idea she had a twin until Tamara moved to Long Island last autumn.

People she had never met claimed to know her. Confusion gave way to astonishment when a friend told her that he knew someone so similar they had to be sisters. Her name was Adriana and she went to another university not far away on Long Island.

They first contacted each other through internet. It turned out they were both adopted and were exactly the same height, just over 5ft 3in. Finally, one e-mailed the other a picture. Their looks were so similar there was no longer any doubt. Since then, the girls have become close friends.



Twins born in different years

Catalin and Valentin from Romania are twins with different years of birth. Catalin was born in December (2 months premature). The doctors were able to wait and deliver her second son Valentin two months later in February. Romanian doctors attributed the time lag in the births to a rare congenital condition that gave the twins mother two uteruses due to a congenital malformation that occurred when she was herself an embryo in her mother’s womb. Approximately one in every 50,000 women has a double uterus but the hospital believes this was the first case where a woman had become pregnant at the same time in both wombs and given birth nearly two months apart. The two brothers were both healthy when they were released from the hospital on the same day.

Identical twins, suspects of the same crime for sharing DNA

$6.8 million worth of jewelry were snatched from the cases of Kaufhaus des Westens, a luxurious seven-story department store. Three masked, gloved thieves were caught on surveillance cameras sliding down ropes from the store's skylights, outsmarting its sophisticated security system.

That night they got away, but they did leave evidence: DNA, found in a drop of sweat on a latex glove discarded next to a rope ladder used to reach the ground floor. Police ran the material through the German crime database. And they got a hit — two in fact.

The computer identified 27-year-old Lebanese identical twins Hassan and Abbas O. Police arrested the brothers and charged both with burglary, an offense that carries a potential 10-year prison sentence. But later on, before the case went to trial, they were released.

Here's the thing: the authorities had no choice, as the court ruling made clear: "From the evidence we have, we can deduce that at least one of the brothers took part in the crime, but it has not been possible to determine which one." The German law doesn't allow to detain someone indefinitely just because he is suspected of a crime. Police will continue to keep an eye on them, hoping to be led to the loot. But with the brothers' arrest warrants suspended, they are free to travel, and the authorities cannot tap their phone lines or keep tabs on their bank accounts.

Twins brothers, different parents after test tube mix-up

Wilma and Willem Stuart were a Dutch couple who had been unsuccessfully trying to conceive for years and decided to try IVF. They soon learned they would be parents of twins. When the two boys were born, Koen had blue eyes, dark hair and pink skin, Tuen had dark eyes dark hair and brown skin. A DNA test revealed that Koen was the Stuarts child but Tuen was not Willem’s. The report of the investigation has not been made public, but speculation is that a piece of lab equipment called a pipette, like a large eyedropper, had been used twice, causing another man’s sperm to be mixed with Willem’s. The hospital called it a “deeply regrettable mistake”. The Stuarts remembered there was a black couple in the waiting room the same day during the IVF process. The hospital located the man and confirmed he was Tuen’s biological father. Although he was under no obligation to meet his son he never knew he had, he did when Koen was 18 months old. The biological father only looked at him from a distance and didn’t try to claim him and was comfortable that the Stuarts loved the child, and let them continue raising him.

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Sweet dreams are made of geomagnetic activity

Looking for an explanation for recurring nightmares of leaving the house without your trousers on or losing your teeth? New research suggests you can blame the Earth's magnetic field, rather than a repressed childhood.

Darren Lipnicki, a psychologist formerly at the Center for Space Medicine in Berlin, Germany, found a correlation between the bizarreness of his dreams, recorded over eight years, and extremes in local geomagnetic activity.

Other studies have tied low geomagnetic activity to increases in the production of the melatonin, a potent hormone that helps set the body's circadian clock. So, based on anecdotal evidence that melatonin supplements used as a sleeping aid can cause off-kilter dreams, Lipnicki wondered whether local magnetic fields could induce the same effects.
Bizarreness barometer

Between 1990 and 1997, he kept meticulous records of his nightly reveries, amassing a total 2387 written accounts during his teenage years. "I always wanted to do science with them," he says.

For the study, he devised a five-point scoring system to rate the bizarreness of these dreams. On the low end are dreams completely representative of reality – "I am sitting at a table doing some maths or physics homework," for instance.

Dreams that scored a three could happen, but seemed unlikely. For example: "A friend is in the backyard of my house, building a wooden platform atop of 7-foot high stilts."

The most bizarre dreams that Lipnicki recorded had little or no connection with reality: "I was stranded on a foreign coastline with a monkey that spoke English and a woman that suddenly became small, almost doll-sized. Then I was at home."
Dream result

Lipnicki looked up daily geomagnetic activity in Perth, Australia – his home at the time. A scale called the k-index quantifies local geomagnetic activity, and he included only days that scored on the extremes of this index. This whittled his dream log down to 66 days of low geomagnetic activity and 70 days of high activity.

Using these figures, Lipnicki uncovered a statistical correlation between dream bizarreness and geomagnetic activity, with freakier dreams occurring on days with the least geomagnetic activity.

Of course, this correlation doesn't prove that the Earth's magnetic activity determines whether we dream of a mundane day at the park or something more like an LSD trip. But a larger and better controlled study may be worth pursuing, Lipnicki says. "At this stage, it's just putting the idea out there."

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Eight of the Best Ski Resorts in the World

Chamonix, France


At the foot of the Mont Blanc (White Mountain) at an altitude of 1,035 meters, Chamonix is one of the most popular winter sports resorts in France. For skiers and snowboarders trying to find haven, this must be it, with Vallée Blanche which runs down from below Mont Blanc du Tacul and the Aiguille du Midi to form a 12-mile run that is among Europe’s longest trails. Another reason to be here is the great French food and the warm village atmosphere.



Cortina d’Ampezzo


In the Dolomite Mountains in northern Italy, Veneto province, Cortina d’Ampezzo is a renowned ski resort known for its wide and sunny valley but also for attracting celebrities of all types. It’s not a cheap place but if you can afford it I’m sure you’ll enjoy those 52 lifts and 87 miles of groomed runs. As for the apres-ski and nightlife, or the Italian cuisine, you probably know how good they are.



Courchevel, France


Another great place in France and famous for being the largest ski resort in the world, is Courchevel in the Savoie region of the French Alps and part of Les Trois Vallées (the Three Valleys). But the whole area is also famous for having some of the most difficult black runs in the world. The highest place, Courchevel 1850 (which is actually only 1771m high) is the fourth of the villages that form Courchevel and is famous for the great restaurants and the Olympic ski-jumping venue.



Gstaad, Switzerland


Ranking among the most exclusive and expensive ski resorts in the world, Gstaad is Switzerland’s finest chalet village that attracted not only international playboys, royalty and movie stars, but also rich skiers and snowboarders who afforded a ride in the Swiss Alps. The hotels are luxurious and offer excellent services, the intimate restaurants serve great food and the nightlife is great. Need more? There are 155 miles (250km) of downhill slopes and 70 chairlifts and gondolas, to serve you. Satisfied?


Lech and Zurs, Austria


Some of Austria’s finest, Lech is a small mountain village full of character that preserved its original flavor, while Zurs is a refined high altitude village. Both are famous for being skier’s stronghold with meticulously groomed (110 km long) slopes that are served by 34 lifts. Many celebrities have spent their winter vacations in the Lech and Zurs area which is why, along with the fairytale scenery, it became so popular.



Vail, Colorado


A year round resort for outdoor activities, Vail in Colorado is a great destination unless you go skiing in Europe. Located at the base of Vail Ski Resort there are 174 trails and seven bowls that you can enjoy, all being serviced by 30 lifts. Don’t think you need to know more about the atmosphere, because Vail is a Tyrolean-style village, sister city of St. Moritz, from Switzerland.



Whistler Blackcomb, Canada


Famous for the largest vertical drop (5,280 feet) in the world, Whistler Blackcomb in Canada, is a bustling village with more than 7,000 skiable acres of extensive terrain covered with a lot of good snow, during winters. These days Whistler Blackcomb is famous for two things : incredible nightlife and the fact that in 2010 it will host some of the Olympic Winter Games.




Big Sky Resort, Montana



In southwestern Montana in Gallatin County, US, the Big Sky Resort is the country’s biggest terrain available for skiing and snowboarding with more than 3,600 acres that will make every snow lover, happy. Three mountains with lots of snow and 17 lift lines so short that they are basically non existent, this is both the place for the experts and for the newbies.

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12 Strange Landmarks in America

Forget the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty. The United States is littered with thousands of incredible historic and cultural landmarks but what about those off the beaten path? Some of the strangest and most interesting landmarks in America are where you’d least expect to see them. Hop in the car and check out a few of these hot spots.

Lucy the Elephant - Margate, NJ

Perched seaside in Margate, NJ, Lucy the Elephant has been a permanent landmark for well over 100 years. Lucy has served as both a restaurant and a house, but is now only open for visitors and tours. According to some, Lucy was used to signal ships to shore during times of Prohibition by changing the color of the lights in her eyes. Today, Lucy provides children and their families and incredible view of the ocean and surrounding shore towns.


The Floating Wedding Chapel - St. Petersburg, Florida



Giving the world’s floating pools a run for their money is the floating wedding chapel in St. Petersburg, Florida. Weddings on the Water hosts quaint dream weddings on their 60-foot long chapel, which is complete with stained glass windows and a separate preparation room for the bride. The chapel actually sits on a barge and is certified as safe by the United States Coast Guard.


Pensacola Beach Sign - Pensacola, Florida



A sign is a sign, you may be thinking. And, we’d be inclined to agree if this beacon of light didn’t rank right up there with the Great Wall of China. It’s illuminated, animated, and bright. So what makes it so special? You can see it from outer space!


Gravity Hill - Bedford County, Pennsylvania



Here’s one for the books. Gravity Hill sits at the end of some of the nicest and most calming country roads on the planet. We guarantee you’ll never forget putting your car in neutral only to find that you’re rolling uphill instead of down!


Carhenge - Alliance, Nebraska



We sincerely doubt Carhenge was created by any sort of mystic event, but there it is. In reality, a man by the name of Jim Reinders created Carhenge by planting 38 vintage automobiles in the ground in an attempt to replicate Stonehenge. Take a close look at pictures of both and you’ll be surprised at the similarities in structure.


 Extraterrestrial Highway - Nevada



The Extraterrestrial Highway can be found just off of Nevada State Route 375. Situated near the unofficial site of the supposedly nonexistent Area 51, the highway has been the site of several undocumented UFO sightings. The residents of Rachel, the down right up the road, swear they’re real, though. You’ll just have to go see for yourself.


 The Largest Beagle in the World - Cottonwood, Idaho



The largest beagle in the world isn’t just for show. The 30-foot high beagle found in Cottonwood, Idaho is part of bed and breakfast. You can even sleep in his muzzle. The smaller beagle standing nearby is just for show, though.


The World’s Largest Ball of Twine - Cawker City, Kansas



The world’s largest ball of twine is situated snugly in Cawker City, Kansas. The ball of twine was started back in the early 1950’s by Frank Stoeber. Cawker City was given the ball about a decade before his death, and they hold an annual festival that includes a twine winding, ensuring the ball will always continue to grow!


Tree Spirits - St. Simons Island, Georgia



On St. Simons Island in Georgia you’ll find a series of oak trees with faces carved discretely into their sides. Keith Jennings is a sculptor who was commissioned to carve one face for every sailor who died on board a ship built from the oak taken from the island.


The Neon Sign Graveyard - Las Vegas, Nevada



Where do you think the lights go when the city of lights is done with them? To the Neon Sign Graveyard, of course! The graveyard is actually an extension of the Neon Museum, but gives visitors a rare glimpse at the way neon signs have changed over the years.


The World’s Largest Thermometer - Baker, California



The largest thermometer in the world is measured at just about 134 feet tall. It was constructed to commemorate the hottest day ever recorded in the United States. Keep your eyes peeled for the thermometer the next time you’re in Mojave Desert. It’s not just a mirage!


 Bishop’s Castle - Pueblo, Colorado



They say that no one man can build a house on his own, but that’s exactly what Jim Bishop did when he built his castle. The 130-foot tower has taken over 30 years to build and it still isn’t finished, but it’s considered the largest single-man construction project in the country!

Keep your eyes peeled, no matter where you go. Strange, odd, and just plain wacky landmarks are littered across the entire country. You might be surprised at what you find!

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