Philbrick

When I wrote an article about whether the umpire's job in cricket was even possible, due to the speeds and distances involved, it got me thinking about umpire decisions which are dubiously possible, and this next one's a corker...

It's the offside rule in football/soccer.

Football only has 3 referees, well actually only one, and 2 'assistants'. The ref is on the pitch and goes with the action all over the pitch, but the assistants only cover half the pitch each, running up and down the touchline.

They used to be called linesmen, but that was changed to referee's assistant, presumably because 'linesman' didn't sound important enough!

Now, when we consider the refereeing of the offside rule, we need to take the dimensions of the pitch into account. A football pitch can be 100 yards wide, and 120 yards long, so each linesman, er sorry, assistant has to watch over an area of up to 60 x 100 yards.

That's a big area!

When it comes to the offside rule, the ref always relies on the assistant, because the ref cannot be in the right position to make the decision, whereas the assistant should be.

Here's where we get down to the point - *is* the assistant ref actually able to make the decision? Let's assume that he (I'll go for 'he', the subject of female refs is another article!) is in the right spot, and is level with the last defender.

The decision of offside or not depends on where the attacking player is *when the ball is kicked fowward*. Not before it is kicked, not after it's kicked, but as it's kicked.

So, an assistant ref is expected to make sure he's in line with the last defender, spot the pass being made, and at the same time, judge the position of the attacking player?

Come on, that can't be right! Remember the attackers and defenders can be in an area up to 60 x 100 yards, and the pass might be made from the other half! It surely isn't possible for someone to see all those things at the same time, is it?

It either must come down to peripheral vision, or guesswork.

Since there is no tv replay as yet in soccer, I guess we'll have to carry on living with it as we have done so far, but blimey, who'd be a referee? Not me, that's for sure!!

Gordon Bryan is the author of 'Make Money From Sport,' a guide where he takes you through the single technique he uses again and again to profit from any sport! Find out more at: http://www.gordonbryan.com/makemoneyfromsport

Much of premature ejaculation suffering is the result of not being able to control things mentally. It is possible to mentally be able to control how long we can last during sexual intimacy. We just have to re-train the brain to not experience the usual anxiety's, worries, and self doubt that is generally associated with sexual intimacy which will lead to quick ejaculation.

One way to accomplish this is through a form of self hypnosis. Here's some methods how.

1. Pick a number before hand and associate that number with "being in the zone". The zone is where you are focused and unaffected by anxiety's or worries. Take the number "99". Practice thinking of the number 99 and then saying something like ''zone''. So its : "99...Zone...99...Zone..." and so forth, repeating the word 99 and focusing on being in a zone. This should be done for several minutes daily, before sexual intimacy is to occur.

2. When it is "game time" and sexual activity is going down, then when you sense yourself beginning to get over excited, simply repeat the number "99" in your head, over and over. Immediately you should find your focus suddenly sharpened and all other premature ejaculation thoughts shut off. Basically you should find yourself in the zone. You'll then be able to last longer. If you find yourself losing excitement then stop repeating "99" and if over excitement enters the picture again, resume your 99 mantra.

3. You may find you need a backup, in case you fall out of the zone for some reason. If this happens simply count backwards about five to ten numbers: 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, and so forth. This will keep your mind busy enough to ward off quick ejaculation while getting you back in "the zone."

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