Who played the first game of cricket? It really is not clear but some historians think that the game of cricket was invented by the children of workers in the farming and metalworking industries. Another theory is that cricket could have been played by Prince Edward in the 1300s. The former is actually the more accepted explanation.

Today, cricket is played by countless people in various countries. It has gone a long way from its humble origins centuries ago. Although cricket may not have reached the heights that football is currently enjoying, it really does have its own huge following.

How do you play cricket? It is played on a green field – much like many other sports. In the middle of the field, there is a flat strip of bare ground 20 meters long. It is called the cricket pitch. At each end of the cricket pitch, a wooden device is placed. This is called the wicket and it is used as the target. The cricket ball, weighing in at 160 grams and made of hard leather, is bowled by a player towards a wicket. The opposing team has a batsman who guards the wicket to avoid the ball hitting the target.

These are the basics of the game which has captured the hearts of many people around the world. You should try watching a game just to see what it’s like.

Darts for its part has been known to be only a recreational activity that goes along with beer. But the level of competition that many would refer to as the Masters of Darts tournament have their own set of traditions and distinctions.

Darts actually originated in the middle ages where soldiers would hurl arrows on the upturned side of a barrel where arrows would be hurled closest to the cork bung, with the closes being the winner. Today, the concept has been totally developed into bulls eyes, where the score would be higher than that of farther hit targets in darts.

[tags]darts, sports, traditions, culture, competition[/tags]

The next Olympics, as you should already know, is to be held in London. 2012 is the year, and the UK won the bid as host. However, things are not going as smoothly as everyone has been hoping. The fact is that the British government initially was counting on private financing for a large part of the project. This is not unusual since many companies vie for a piece of the pie when it comes to this event as well. Millions of money that is spent on advertising and sponsorship will naturally turn into income for these companies anyway.

This time, however, it seems that the recession is really biting hard. The British government has been unable to get enough private financing for the 2012 Olympics. As such, they have been putting in a lot of money into the project. As a matter of fact, they recently used $491 million to create the Olympic Village. And since its taxpayer’s money that they are using, the Village is going to remain a property of the government, to do with as they wish when the Olympics is over.

While it may not seem to be a good thing for the taxpayers right now, it should work out just fine. After all, the sales and proceeds from the event will all go back to the government.

For those who are not really into boxing, the 2nd of May is a big day. It is the day when boxing greats Manny Pacquiao of The Philippines and Ricky Hatton of The United Kingdom. This match is expected to be one of the biggest – if not THE biggest – this year. Tempo has this report:

Las Vegas is anticipating a British invasion in the final days leading to the May 2 super fight between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton.

The 12-round super-lightweight slugfest will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and those who won’t make it inside the 16,000 arena can still feel the electricity as the promoters are setting up closed circuit viewing stations in seven hotels also operated by the MGM-Mirage group.

Would you believe the reports are saying that 35,000 British fans crossed the ocean to see Hatton fight Mayweather way back in 2007? And of that 35,000, a mere 5,000 Britons were able to get tickets to watch the fight. As for the unfortunate rest who were not able to get tickets, they flooded the streets of Vegas in support of their countryman. With Pacquiao and Hatton being much bigger today than they were back then, this fight will surely bring in more Britons to Vegas.

As I am writing this piece, my eyes alternate between the telly and my laptop screen. I am so tempted to just do away with the laptop and keep my eyes glued to the telly. Good thing I have a propensity for multi-tasking – I make use of my ears as well! Oh, and I am also monitoring the web for live blogging on the Oscars. Twitter, in particular is so much fun to follow at this time as everyone in the world seems to be glued to the Oscars. Though many quips lean towards the negative end of the spectrum, I have to say that one thing is for sure: the British are looking really really good.

Heavy favourite Slumdog Millionaire has already garnered a lot of awards. This is no surprise as the movie has won so many awards in the past month or so. Everyone has been saying that the Oscars is merely a formality – the movie has proven its worth.

Still, actually seeing the nominations on screen, hearing the winners announced, and seeing the people go up on stage to accept their Oscars is something else. There are other British players on the show but Slumdog Millionaire seems to be at the center of everything. As of this writing, the Best Picture award has not been given yet but I have a strong feeling that Slumdog Millionaire just might make it. Of course, I have been wrong before. And even if the movie does not get the award, I think that it has gone a very long way.

Boxing enthusiasts will not need to be informed as to who the man behind this name is. For the benefit of those who are not so updated, Ricky Hatton is one of the newest names to make it big in the world of boxing. Born in 1978 in Stockport, Greater Manchester, he is also known by the moniker “The Hitman.”

And one heck of a hitman he is! Look at this list of achievements (courtesy of Wikipedia):

Hatton is a two-time IBF and IBO Light Welterweight Champion, having relinquished the IBF belt, only to step back down to the weight class and beat Juan Urango. He was the WBA Welterweight Champion, but relinquished this title on 31 August 2006. Hatton is also the former WBU, WBA Light Welterweight Champion and WBC, WBA, WBO Inter-Continental Light Welterweight Champion, and current Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight Champion.

He rings in an impressive 45 wins, 1 loss, and 0 draws. Of those wins, 32 of them were knockouts, 12 were by decision, and 1 by disqualification. And guess who he lost to? No less than Floyd Mayweather, Jr. That shows you just how good Ricky Hatton is.

Still, he is not without his faults. In fact, some detractors call him Ricky Fatton, referring to his propensity to be 25 to 40 pounds over his fight weight when he is not training for a fight. This has actually been used as an explanation for his sometimes sluggish performance. But hey, a full English breakfast before his fights has not stopped him from his wins, has it?

Lewis Hamilton produced the most dramatic climax to any Formula One season at Interlagos yesterday and the world’s media has responded by hailing the man many believe can go on to become one of the true greats.

Hamilton and his McLaren team kept their nerve in the rain, overtaking Timo Glock’s Toyota almost within sight of the finish line to write the 23-year-old’s name into motorsport history. Hamilton has become Formula One’s youngest champion and only the second man to win the title in his second season.

In Britain Hamilton has dominated front and back pages with The Sun leading with the headline “Phew, Lew”, the Daily Mirror saying “Lew Beauty” and the Daily Mail declaring the champion as “Last-lap Lewis, the £100m British hero”.

Naturally, not everyone is happy with his achievement. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, of course, but this is something that Britain can be very proud of.

The Independent, however, has reported something that is a bit alarming. Apparently, there is still a lack of sponsors for the 2012 Olympics.

Which names do you remember from the Beijing Olympics? The Mansfield Mermaid Rebecca Adlington? The cyclists Chris Hoy or Rebecca Romero? Manulife? Atos Origin? The last two did not win gold, they spent it, but if their names have passed you by, their £50m sponsorship looks like money badly spent.
Several of the Olympics’ 12 main sponsors are questioning whether the cost has been worth it, and that is worrying London as it tries to persuade commercial companies to bridge its funding gap for the 2012 Games.

This is not good news but then again, there is still a long road ahead for the organizers. I think that many big companies were waiting for the Beijing Olympics to end before making any commitments. One good thing that can contribute to encouraging British companies to shell out some money for the London Olympics is the fact that Team GB did pretty well in the Beijing Olympics – they in fact surpassed most people’s expectations.

I guess we have to sit back, wait, and hope that the companies would have a change of heart.

Later on tonight, when the 2008 Beijing Olympics formally draws to an end, the organizers of the 2012 London Olympics will have the chance to put the spotlight on London and the next Olympics. The Scotsman reports:

Rock legend Jimmy Page and singer Leona Lewis will lead the way with a new version of the Led Zeppelin classic ‘Whole Lotta Love’, while footballer David Beckham will also make an appearance alongside Team GB.

The set will begin after London Mayor Boris Johnson receives the Olympic flag in an official handover ceremony, and starts with a red London double-decker bus driving around the Bird’s Nest stadium being pursued by Team GB cyclists Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Shanaze Reade.

Bill Morris, London 2012′s director of ceremonies, said they were not aiming to try to match Beijing in terms of scale at the handover ceremony but that the approach would be “simple and creative”.

I think the fact that Jimmy Page and David Beckham are going to be part of the cast is enough for me to want to watch the ceremony later on.

That is why it does not come as a surprise that British press was quite “giddy” over the successes that British athletes met on Wednesday. AFP reports:

Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton continued Britain’s domination of events at the Laoshan Velodrome, winning the men’s and women’s sprints respectively, with Hoy leading Jason Kenny in a British one-two, while Christine Ohuruogu capped the golden day with victory in the final of the women’s 400 metres.

“The performance of ‘Team GB’ in the Olympics is moving beyond the sublime and towards the ridiculous,” the Daily Telegraph gushed in its editorial.

“We are British, for heaven’s sake — how are we supposed to cope with such a relentless diet of good news, such an unprecedented glut of world-beating performances?

“The only difficulty, as the Games bring yet more medal chances, will be in squeezing so many names into the next (edition of the Queen’s) Honours List.”

The Independent, meanwhile, admitted that it had not expected anything like the numbers of medals won by British athletes, writing in its editorial: “On Monday, we proclaimed that it couldn’t get any better for Britain. But it did.”

“These Olympics have offered more than mere diversion from a dismal summer of grey skies and economic gloom.

It is always a pleasure to read and write about news like this one. Indeed, despite the controversies that have been marring the Beijing Olympics, the spirit of the games still exist and great athletes can still inspire their countrymen. Keep going Team GB!