Sports Then and Now

Baseball players have lots of quirky habits.

Baseball players and teams are a superstitious bunch of guys. Despite all the advancements in sports science, they continue to indulge in practices that have zero grounding in fact. That’s okay because some of the most decorated players are also obsessed with pregame rituals. Pregame rituals have changed over the years for players and teams, but what has never changed is how strange they are.

Team Gravy Drinking

All the way back in 1894, the Baltimore Orioles won the National League pennant through winning 24 of their 25 games. The entire team drank a glass of turkey gravy the day before every batting practice.

It was both a team building exercise and a way to psyche themselves up for the game. Sadly, the team was found to be cheating by icing the balls and putting soap around the pitcher’s mound.

Touching the Statue

After the time of Babe Ruth, baseball had a gaping hole left behind. Roger Clemens won the World Series twice with his pre-game ritual. Each time the Yankees had a home game he would touch the Babe Ruth statue outside the stadium.

Eating the Right Breakfast

Stan Musial is a legend in the game of baseball. He was elected to the all-star team on twenty-four separate occasions; one of only three players to do it.

His pre-game breakfast during the 1940s onwards was to eat an egg for breakfast, then two pancakes, and finally another egg. Read the rest of this entry →

Natural beauty is abundant in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica is the hidden jewel of Central America for many reasons. Many industrialized Nations underestimate it’s accomplishments nor do they, with a few exceptions, seem to appreciate all that Costa Rica has to offer. One of these exceptions is corporate investment in the tourism industry and one other notable exception is the Intel Microprocessor Plant responsible for 20% of the Country’s exports.

This lack of appreciation is quickly starting to change and one of the reasons for this is Costa Rica’s tax exemption for any Company willing to invest here. Proctor and Gamble is savvy to this lucrative place to do business and operates a facility in this special nation. It is located less than 10 degrees from the Equator which means of-course it is tropical, very tropical, lush and beautiful. Because of this environment, Costa Rica grows some of the best coffee beans and bananas in the entire world. These two cash crops had for the last two hundred years, been this country’s life blood. First in Exchange Commodities these days it is tourism, however it’s coffee and banana exports still hold a strong 2nd place.

It is not hard to understand why this is fast becoming the destination of choice for tourist from around the Globe, Americans and Canadians leading the pack. The Hotel and Resort Industry have been quick to capitalize on this Country’s awesome natural beauty and there are no less than 10 world class, 5 star luxury Resorts here that are unequaled in their magnificence. Some examples are, The Four Seasons resort on Papagayo Peninsula located in Northwest Costa Rica on the Pacific Ocean, The Four Seasons at Puntarenas on the Gulf of Nicoya in West Central Costa Rica, the Hilton Papagay Resort and Spa, and, the JW Marriott Guancaste Resort and Spa, all are on the West Cost in the Warm Tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean. There are also 5 star resorts on the Atlantic side of the County in the heart of the Caribbean. Costa Rica has right at 4.5 Million people of which ¼ live in and around the Capital, San Jose, located in the geographical center of the Country. Read the rest of this entry →