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5 Games Similar to Qwirkle

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Ever since its release in 2006, Qwirkle has become one of the most popular board games, fusing together several different board game genres. Because of that, there are several games that are similar to Qwirkle. Many take the idea of using tiles to score points and figure in a scoring system to determine the winner.

If you’re a big fan of Qwirkle but want to mix things up a little bit and expand your board game horizons a little bit, try one of these five games that are most similar to Qwirkle.

Hive

Hive is an abstract strategy board game with a fun bug theme and hexagonal-shaped tiles. It was designed by John Yianni and published by the Gen42 Games company in 2001. The game allows for two players and can take around 20 minutes to finish, on average. 

The objective is to protect your Queen Bee while attempting to surround your opponent’s Queen Bee with your tile pieces. It’s said to be somewhat similar to chess in that you’re able to move tile pieces to different positions after they’re placed, depending on the circumstances.  

Blokus

Before being sold to Mattel in 2009, a French-based company, Sekkoïa, released Blokus in 2000. The game was originally designed by a mathematician named Bernard Tavitian. In Blokus, you’re able to play with 2-4 people and gameplay runs about 20-30 minutes on average.

The objective of the game is to fill the grid-like board with more of your color pieces than your opponents. The game board has 400 squares, made up of 20 rows and 20 columns. There’s four separate colored sets of tiles, 21 blue tiles, 21 yellow tiles, 21 red tiles, and 21 green tiles. There’s other variants of the game including Blokus Duos, Blokus 3D, Blokus Jr, Blokus XL, and Blokus Trigon. 

Rummikub

Rummikub is a tile-based board game with influence from the popular games, Mahjong and Rummy. It can be played by 2-4 players. It was created by Romanian-born Ephraim Hertzano. Rummikub was first introduced to the US in the early 1970s and quickly became the best-selling board game by the late 1970s. The most popular version of the game is the Sabra variant. 

The game has 104 numbered tiles with values from 1-13, as well as two joker tiles. They come in blue, yellow, black, and red. The objective is to play tiles from your pile that value at least 30 while adding groups and runs as the game goes on. After using all of your tiles, you call “Rummikub” and win the game. 

Azul

The game Azul, which translates to Blue in English, is an abstract strategy board game. Michael Kiesling created Azul in 2017 and found inspiration based on the gorgeous Portuguese tiles called azulejos. The game is made for 2-4 players who receive their own 5×5 player board. The goal is to take tiles, all one color, from the middle of the table

There are multiple rounds in Azul, with the winner of the game having the most points, with those points being tabulated after each round. A round ends in Azul when one player has a horizontal line of tiles. The first three turns in a round set the foundation for scoring, and strategy comes into play right from the get-go. Some have referred to Azul’s rules as being “tricky,” but that’s part of the fun.

Ingenious 

The creator of this abstract strategy game, Reiner Knizia, was commissioned to do so by Sophisticated Games and published by Kosmos in 2004. Its original German name, Einfach Genial, translates to Simply Ingenious in English. 

The game allows for 1-4 players of ages 10 and up. The game comes with 120 tiles, 4 racks, 4 scoreboards, and 24 color pegs. You place the tiles in the bag provided, shuffle them up, then each player uses one of their six tiles to match the design with a tile on the board. 

The Details of the Chicago Bears Uniforms

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There are certain sports uniforms that are seen as iconic since they haven’t changed with each passing generation. Teams in the NFL like the Jacksonville Jaguars or Atlanta Falcons seem to have a new uniform every year, but then there are teams like the New York Giants or Pittsburgh Steelers that remain largely unchanged.

Out of all of those classic uniforms, many consider the Chicago Bears to have the best of the bunch. While some minor details might change every few years or so, the overall concept remains the same. Let’s take a look at the Bears uniform, how it came to be, and some details that are still included as part of the uniform today.

The Staley Days

The early days of organized professional football didn’t offer a lot of variations between teams. Back when they first started, the Bears were known as the Decatur Staleys and their uniforms featured red jerseys with gold highlights for a few years before the iconic blue and orange colors became a staple.

The original Staleys uniforms featured three vertical stripes at the front of the jersey which was popular back then before switching to numbers upon becoming the Bears. In fact, the franchise was the first to feature jersey numbers.\

The Sleeves

Those that are watching the Chicago Bears play for the first time might ask why the Bears play with the letters “GSH” on their sleeves. While there have been memorial patches for plenty of NFL teams, the “GSH” on the Bears uniform is permanent and has been there since 1984. That was the first full season following the death of George Stanley “Papa Bear” Halas.

Halas wasn’t just the owner of the team but was also the founder. On top of that, Halas coached the team from their time in Decatur starting in 1920 all the way until 1967 with a few brief breaks in the action including World War II. The eight-time NFL champion will forever be etched onto the Bears uniforms with the “GSH” initials.

The Wings

The winged helmet in football is something that dates back to the early 1930s, and these days is more synonymous with the University of Michigan Wolverines football team. During the early days of the winged helmet concept, though, the Chicago Bears were among the pioneers with two seasons bearing the pattern.

Leather helmets were still in use by football teams during that time, and the Bears wanted to add some color to stand out. Though the concept was ultimately abandoned after a couple of years, the Bears throwback uniforms do feature the winged helmets.

The Helmet Logo

Though advertisements as part of sports uniforms are much more common these days, the Chicago Bears were one of the first teams to feature advertising. That was before they were the Bears, though. During the time of the Decatur Staleys, the team had the A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company logo for a year.

Since the early 1960s, though, the Bears have had the iconic ‘C’ logo on their helmets. The wishbone-style letter has a bit of an underbite, which has irked some people, though the origins are a bit difficult to find for historians. The logo is most synonymous with the Bears, but is also used by the Cincinnati Reds and had already been used by several colleges before the Bears got their hands (or paws) on it.

The Alternates

Just like every other franchise in the NFL, the Chicago Bears have experimented with a lot of alternate uniforms over the years. In addition to their Staleys throwbacks, the Bears have used orange as the primary jersey color for many of the alternates. The helmets, outside of the winged helmet, have largely remained untouched until 2022.

That was when the Bears debuted an orange alternate helmet for the first time, catching a lot of attention. For the most part, though, the uniforms have remained true to their classic look or have thrown back to the early 20th century look.

5 Greatest Chicago Bears

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As the second oldest team in the NFL behind only the Cardinals, the Chicago Bears are among the most storied franchises in North American professional sports. With a history that has spanned over a century, there are bound to be plenty of eventual legends, including many Hall of Fame members to make their way through Chicago.

Out of the hundreds of people to don a Chicago Bears uniform, which ones rank among the best? It’s hard to narrow it down to just a handful, but we’ve picked the five best in Chicago Bears’ history. First, we’ll take a look at some of the members that almost made the list.

Honorable Mentions: Sid Luckman, Bill George, Brian Urlacher, Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton, Lance Briggs, Steve McMichael, Richard Dent

5. Mike Ditka

While most people from younger generations think of Mike Ditka as a coach or analyst, many forget that he was a tremendous player for the Bears, as well. Ditka was drafted with the fifth overall pick in 1961, playing his first six NFL seasons for the Bears. The tight end was an NFL Champion and four-time All-Pro in Chicago before ending his playing career with the Eagles and Cowboys.

Following his retirement, Ditka went into coaching with Dallas and remained there for nearly a decade before returning to the Bears sideline as the head coach. Ditka would win Super Bowl XX with one of the best football rosters ever assembled. Adding that to his playing career made Ditka a Bears legend.

4. Sid Luckman

Sid Luckman would change the game of football forever thanks to his passing ability during the first half of the 20th century. After attending Columbia, Luckman was drafted second overall by the Bears in 1939, and he played his entire career with the team. Luckman won four NFL Championships during that time, dominating the NFL.

Luckman led the NFL in passing three times and was a six-time All-Pro selection. His number 42 was retired by the Bears after his retirement, finishing with 137 touchdowns and nearly 15,000 career passing yards in an era where that was unheard of.

3. Gale Sayers

Known as the “Kansas Comet,” Gale Sayers didn’t have the longest career, but he put on a heck of a show during his NFL career. The fourth overall pick out of Kansas by the Bears, Sayers would play for seven seasons in Chicago, two of which he led the NFL in rushing yards.

Sayers set the rookie record for rushing touchdowns with 22 and is one of just three players to ever score six times in one game. Sayers was a five-time All-Pro selection who has his number 40 jersey retired by the Bears and was named to the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.

2. Dick Butkus

One of the most recognizable faces and, of course, names in the NFL belongs to Dick Butkus, the hardnosed linebacker that was a hometown hero. After growing up in Chicago, Butkus attended the University of Illinois and became the third overall selection in the 1965 NFL Draft. Butkus spent his entire career with the Bears and was a Pro Bowl selection in all but one of them.

Butkus was also an eight-time All-Pro and two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. His number 51 jersey is retired by the Bears, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot.

1. Walter Payton

Many consider Walter Payton to be not just the greatest Chicago Bear of all time, but one of the greatest NFL players, too. “Sweetness” played all 13 of his NFL seasons with the Bears, and was an eight-time All-Pro that set a then-NFL record for career rushing yards with 16,726. Payton also won a Super Bowl (XX) and the Most Valuable Player Award (1977).

Perhaps the greatest part of Payton’s legacy is winning the NFL Man of the Year Award. Due to his philanthropic efforts, the award was named after Payton and is one of the most prestigious honors given by the NFL each year.

5 Surprise Birthday Ideas For Your Boyfriend Or Husband

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Men can be incredibly difficult to shop for in terms of a birthday present (or really any holiday). We’ve all heard the famous male catchphrase “I don’t want anything this year,” and while they can say it over and over, most men don’t actually mean that. If you find yourself in this predicament with your boyfriend or husband’s birthday coming up, there is hope.

There’s a long list of surprise ideas that you can use for your man’s birthday, no matter what his interests are. Whether he’s deep into sports, knowing every player’s statistics over the past 10 years, or prefers the arts more, there’s something special waiting. Here are five surprise birthday ideas for your boyfriend or husband that not only he will enjoy, but you’ll get to have fun alongside him.

Sports

Sporting events are a fun and exhilarating experience any fan would love to attend for their birthday. Especially if the sporting event is an important one they’ve been anticipating or involves their favorite team, or favorite sports rivalry. 

It’s also something you can do together as a couple, with family, and friends. Even if you’re not a sports fan yourself,  the energy of the crowd and seeing your partner happy will make it a fun time and give you a memory you’ll both cherish.  

Brewery Tour

A fun idea for the beer-loving guy in your life, a tour of their favorite brewery will make their birthday one to remember, hopefully. Beer is great and specialty beer is even better. Breweries typically have great food pairings to go with their beers within or nearby the establishment. 

In the end, you, your lover, and whoever else they want to bring along can enjoy a nice meal and drinks after viewing the intriguing process of making their favorite brews. It’s bound to be a great, low-key experience for their birthday and you can bring home goodies to enjoy the following days as well. 

Make Them Something 

If you want to melt your loved one’s heart, making them a homemade gift will probably do it.  If you’re the creative type, writing them a song, painting them a picture, baking them their favorite treat, cooking them their favorite meal, any way of using your artistic ability to create them a thoughtful gift is a unique way to show them how much you care. 

Even if you’re not the most creative, there are tons of cute things you can put together on your own that will make their birthday a special one. You could order a personalized gift as well if all else fails. 

Pamper Them 

Women aren’t the only ones who enjoy being pampered. If your guy is comfortable with it, plan a special spa day for them. If they’re apprehensive, pampering them yourself is a great alternative to going to a spa to treat them. Comfort is the most important factor when considering a day of bliss and relaxation, so keep in mind what they like and what they’re comfortable with. 

Book a couples spa package to make it a romantic experience. Or if you’re doing it yourself, prepare some light snacks and refreshing drinks, turn the lights down low, grab the massage oil, and do your thing. 

Games

Who doesn’t love games? Even the most burly guy indulges in some form of gaming. Whether it’s board games, video games, arcade games, sport-focused games, ax throwing, or escape room games, the guy in your life would love a birthday gaming bonanza for his special day. 

Take your man out for a night of fun food, drinks, and fun. Or perhaps put together a nice gift with games they’ve been eyeing and haven’t yet bought for themselves. It’s a sweet, yet fun way to show you care about their hobbies. 

5 Surprise Birthday Ideas For Your Girlfriend Or Wife

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There are plenty of reasons to give someone a birthday present, though it seems that more and more people these days don’t ask for or want anything on their special day. For those that are in a relationship, you know how difficult it can be to come up with the right gift for someone that won’t budge on the idea of wanting something.

For those that have a girlfriend or wife, coming up with something perfect can be extremely difficult. After struggling with ideas, why not try one of the five surprise gifts that you can get for your significant other. The surprise doesn’t have to be all that expensive to be special, and these ideas will truly have a personal touch that will make her birthday spectacularly memorable.

A trip

One thoughtful way to surprise your loved one for their birthday is by planning a nice trip for them. Whether it’s nearby, out of state, or even abroad, a trip of any kind is a great way to show you care and whisk your partner away from the monotony of their everyday environment. It can be a trip for just the two of you, a family trip, or a trip with all of their closest friends. It’s a great way to forget about daily stressors and spend quality time celebrating the one you love. 

A spa day

Another perfect birthday treat that anyone would love, is a spa day. Getting a manicure, pedicure, massage, and other luxurious treatments will put your partner into a well-deserved state of relaxation and zen. There are plenty of different services you can order to focus on your partner’s needs, or maybe you want to spoil them even further and buy a spa package with every luscious treatment available. Most spa locations offer a couples package as well, so you and your loved one can unwind together. 

A day with loved ones 

When you don’t know exactly what your partner wants to do for their birthday, you can start with the basics. Surprise them by gathering all of the people they’re closest to and working together to come up with something your partner will love. You could throw them a surprise party with all of their loved ones, or maybe go out to eat at their favorite restaurant and find a fun activity you can all do together. The presence of their friends and family will ensure they have a great time because sometimes it’s the people you’re with that really makes a special day more special. 

Gifts they love

Everyone loves gifts. Sure, birthdays aren’t all about the gifts, but most people would be lying if they said they didn’t get a little excited when presented with a surprise all wrapped up in pretty paper and a bow. Homemade or personalized gifts are a fantastic way to show your loved one how much thought you put into their gift and will touch their heart in a special way. Or maybe you want to go all out and buy them a fancy present. Though your gift doesn’t have to be expensive, homemade, or the best ever. The thought is enough to make them smile. 

Somewhere they loved going to or never got to go as a kid

A really fun gift idea that has been trending lately is doing fun things their inner child loves doing, or would have loved doing if it’s an activity they never had the chance to do. It makes for an extra special and thoughtful gift that is guaranteed to touch their heart. Whether it’s a place they’ve always dreamt of going, a fun activity that unleashes the big kid in them, or giving them the biggest and best cartoon-themed birthday they never had, it’s a memory they won’t forget. 

5 Ways To Make The Most Of The Sunset/Sunrise

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Every single day has a sunrise and a sunset, but not everyone has the opportunity to make these into daily events that we get to appreciate. There are few things that have the same natural beauty as a sunrise or sunset, so making the most out of them can be a great benefit to your health and happiness.

Instead of sleeping through every sunrise or working through every sunset, try to enjoy them as much as you can on a daily basis. If you’re lacking ideas on how to do that, we have some tips. 

Here are five ways in which you can make the most out of each sunrise and sunset.

Photography and Art 

A couple of creative ways to make the most of the sunrise and/or sunset is by using them as artistic inspiration. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to capture the beauty of the change of night into day or day into night. Though, if you have a quality camera, the pictures will come out more stunning. 

The sunrise or sunset in the background will make average scenery intensely beautiful and make already gorgeous scenery more jaw-dropping. If photography isn’t your thing, you can paint your own picture and capture the vibrant, or mellow colors a sunrise, or sunset can produce. 

Get Romantic

The sunrise and sunset are relatively quick and stunning daily occurrences, giving you plenty of opportunities to plan something wonderfully romantic during that time, but you have to plan it properly if you don’t want to miss it. 

Sunrises pair well with early morning breakfasts at the beach, an open-air breakfast joint, or a hotel balcony after a fun overnight stay. Sunsets are best enjoyed by a fire pit, at a romantic dinner spot with a view, waterside, or even cozied up on your backyard patio. 

Correct Your Circadian Rhythm and Exercise

Waking when the sun rises is something our bodies naturally crave. Certain physical, mental, and behavioral changes take effect within the daily 24-hour cycle that makes up our circadian rhythm. Biologically, humans, like most creatures, are predisposed to respond to changes in light and dark. 

Waking up when the sun first peeks out can help adjust your body to the proper wake and sleep cycle it needs to work more efficiently. Exercising within that time can be a healthy addition to your morning routine as well. It keeps your body limber and your mind focused and ready to take on the day. 

Enjoy Them By the Beach 

Sunrises and sunsets are beautiful in their own right, but one thing that enhances their beauty tenfold is the beach. No matter the time of year, if you’re down to take a trip to the beach or any large body of water, it would be a fantastic way to enjoy the dewy sunrise and vibrant sunset. 

You could book a room by the beach so you can take in the sights from the comfort of a waterside room.  Or maybe plan an early morning, or late night trip to your destination of choice to catch the sunrise or sunset. 

Have A Bonfire 

Bonfires are a fun and chill way to end a long day. You don’t have to save them for special occasions either. Plan a summer cookout, a cozy fall evening, or perhaps a refreshing spring evening after being cooped up inside all winter. 

Throw a little get together, invite friends and family, get the kids in on it, make s’mores, share laughs, and have a great time relaxing by a fire at sunset. Don’t forget to take plenty of pictures of the sunset while you’re at it. That feeling of seeing the bright colors and being surrounded by people you care about the most will spark a lot of joy in your life.

5 Most Popular Styles of Solitaire

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One of the most popular card games due to its simplicity, variants of styles, and ease of access (especially with those of us that grew up with shoddy internet), Solitaire is played by millions every day. Microsoft, who started the computer Solitaire craze, estimates that there are more than 100 million hands played on any given day.

A lot of people are accustomed to just one type of solitaire, though. Outside of the standard type, there are many other variants for Solitaire fans to try out. If you’re looking to mix it up, check out the five most popular styles of solitaire to expand your horizons.

Spider Solitaire

Spider Solitaire is one of the more popular variations of the zen phenomenon that is Solitaire, having been around since the mid-1900s. The game uses two 52-count decks of cards and displays eight piles needed to be filled to win the game, which is where it gets the name Spider Solitaire. 

There are seven variants of the Spider Solitaire series. Spider 1 Suit, Spider 2 Suit, Relaxed Spider, Will O’ The Wisp, Simple Simon, Mrs. Mop, and Spiderette. Studies show gameplay can improve cognitive function and mood. 

Pyramid

Another popular variation of Solitaire is Pyramid Solitaire. It’s a game of patience and simple addition. There’s a single set of 48 to 52 cards that are placed facing up in a pyramid shape, giving the game its name. The objective of the game is to remove pairs of cards from the 28-card pyramid, which together add up to a total of 13. 

You are given a deck of the remaining cards to use as pairings for the cards in the pyramid. Only fully uncovered cards can be chosen, besides Kings, as their value is already 13 and can be immediately picked out of the pyramid. To win, all cards from the pyramid and the remaining deck must be used. 

Klondike

One of the more difficult variations of Solitaire is Klondike Solitaire, also known as Canfield. It has a surprisingly low success rate, but perhaps that’s why people keep coming back to it. It has a 52-card Solitaire setup, minus the jokers. 

It’s similar to your standard Solitaire, besides the number of cards used, having seven tableaus instead of ten, and the objective is to get four piles of cards stacked from king to ace. 

Forty Thieves 

Forty Thieves, or Napoleon at St Helena, as it’s called in other countries, is a difficult Solitaire variation. This version got its name, Napoleon at St Helena, after Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was rumored to have played this Solitaire game during his exile to St Helena island. Forty Thieves is one of the more popular variants of the patience games and the odds of winning are 1 out of 10. 

The game uses two decks of 52 cards, has ten columns of four cards facing up, and has eight foundations to pile the used cards. There is a stock, but you can only go through it once. Besides that, it follows your usual solitaire rules where the objective is to gather families of cards from aces to kings. 

Yukon

Yukon Solitaire is similar to the Klondike variant, with the exception of a deck, or stock. There are seven tableaus and four suits where cards are piled up when chosen. All of the cards are presented in the beginning, with most of the cards face up and some being face down underneath the revealed cards in the tableau. 

The objective is the same as typical solitaire, get all cards from aces to the king, sans jokers. Fill the suits one by one and reveal the hidden cards as soon as possible to help in doing so.  There are some variants of Yukon Solitaire, such as Russian Solitaire, Alaskan Patience, and Australian Patience. 

5 Premier League Stars Whose Careers Were Hampered By Injury

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There’s nothing quite as frustrating as a supporter than having a player that you know is among the best in the world, but never reaches their full potential due to a string of injuries. Fans of almost every Premier League team have been through that with at least one player, but watching some players deal with injuries can be more devastating because you knew they were once bound to be all-time greats.

Out of all of the players that have dealt with injuries throughout their careers in the Premier League, these five were the ones that seemed to be on their way to being legends, only to have setback after setback as they were hampered by injuries.

Owen Hargreaves

Canadian-born Owen Hargreaves made his way to Europe from North America as a teenager, entering Bayern Munich’s youth system in 1997. He would begin his professional career with Bayern, as well, and after lengthy negotiations, he would join Manchester United in 2007 in one of the most anticipated transfers ever.

The injury problems for Hargreaves began before he even suited up for Man U, though. In the year leading up to his joining the squad, Hargreaves was dealing with several minor injuries and then broke his leg, which never fully recovered. Hargreaves then dealt with painful patellar tendinitis and had some of the worst knees that doctors had ever seen. Physicians attempted to help Hargreaves, but there was no recovery in sight and he retired in 2011 with just 29 EPL appearances.

Jack Wilshere

There is perhaps no great example of a great career that was derailed by injury quite like Jack Wilshere’s. While coming up through Arsenal’s youth academy, Wilshire was one of the finest midfield prospects that some had ever seen. He made his senior club debut in 2008 and appeared in a total of 125 matches with Arsenal before joining West Ham in 2018.

Wilshere remained with West Ham until 2020 and ended his career with AFC Bournemouth and finally AGF in Denmark. During the 2011-12 season, Wilshere fractured his ankle in a friendly, which started his long list of problems. Wilshire picked up injury after injury, and he expressed his frustrations about not being able to stay healthy.

Dean Ashton

Dean Ashton began his professional football career with Crewe Alexandra, and made his English Premier League debut in 2005 with Norwich City. He appeared in 44 matches with the club, and finished out his career with 46 more appearances with West Ham from 2006 to 2009 before retiring at just 26 years old.

Ashton had lingering injuries throughout his career, but there was one in particular that essentially ruined his career. While training with the English national team in 2006, Ashton broke his ankle and it never fully recovered. Surgeons advised Ashton to cut his career short or else he’d be unable to walk eventually.

Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge was just six years old when he joined the Aston Villa academy, while also spending time with Coventry City and Manchester City’s youth academies. He would join the latter’s senior squad in 2006 and made 21 appearances before joining Chelsea in 2009. Sturridge also spent time with Bolton, Liverpool, and West Brom during his English career.

Sturridge often missed weeks at a time with various injuries, which really started to pick up in 2013. He’s missed extended time due to groin strains, sprained ankles, and much more. One hip injury, in particular, kept him out for nearly six months. Sturridge simply couldn’t stay on the pitch long enough to reach his full potential.

Abou Diaby

After spending time with five different youth academies, Abou Diaby made his senior debut in France where he made just 10 appearances over three different years, and then made his way to Arsenal. Arsenal was the only EPL team that Diaby played for, as he ended his career with Marseille from 2015 to 2017.

Diaby’s injury problems started before he even made it to Arsenal, but the club was willing to take a chance on him due to his talents. It’s difficult to list all of the injuries that Diaby sustained, as he underwent multiple surgeries that slowed him down and kept him off the pitch. 

Why Do Some Premier League Clubs Have More Injuries Than Others?

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There are few things quite as frustrating as seeing your club put together a good season, only to have them lose a star player due to injury, derail the entire season, and end the chances of collecting any trophies. For some clubs, the injury bug seems to be much more infectious than it does for others.

Superstitious supporters will tend to believe that their club has been cursed, but there is far more to it than anything supernatural. There can be several reasons one club suffers more injuries than others, and we’ll break down some of the most common reasons.

The Pitch Type

The English Premier League is known for having some of the best-looking grass in the world, as there’s a high standard for pitches across the league. While most clubs have their pitches down to a science, there are some that are lacking in the pitch department. Some clubs haven’t invested in pitch types that are safer for players, and a bad pitch can result in a slew of ankle or knee injuries.

The clubs at the top of the fixture each year invest a lot into making sure that their pitches are perfect to protect their highly-paid players. Those that are lower in the fixture, though, may not be able to afford the upgrades. Jason Booth is the director of the Grounds Management Association, and he said that “We’ve had some clubs (that) have had to cut their cloth.” Even American football has the same problem, with some pitch types resulting in an increase of ACL injuries.

Conditioning

The more fatigued somebody is, the more prone they are to injury. One major study concluded that “fatigued muscles are able to absorb less energy before reaching the degree of stretch that causes injuries.” Because of this, it’s important that all of the players are in great condition, and the staff is responsible for making sure that they’re at that level.

Of course, with the football schedule the way it is, not every player is going to have time to work on their conditioning outside of matches. There are very few breaks throughout the year, and managers have to keep their stars accountable. Also, when a player is showing signs of serious fatigue, a good manager will pull them from a match before injury occurs.

Experience

There are certain ebbs and flows to a match at the Premier League level, and you can certainly tell the difference when watching an EPL match compared to lower levels. Some of the players aren’t accustomed to the speed and strategy of an EPL match, and that can lead to injuries. Accidents happen when a player is in the wrong spot or can take risks that cause them to crash into other players at a high speed.

This is why supporters of all sports are nervous to see their star players go against those that are inexperienced. Many of the top players are pulled from matches early or withheld altogether as their talents aren’t needed to beat the more inexperienced clubs, so the injury risk isn’t worth them playing.

Reported Injuries

There was a time when players would power through injuries because they didn’t want to lose their spot on a squad. However, players weren’t given millions every year. These days, players are a much larger investment for a club, and they want to know when their stars feel even the slightest bit of pain so that they can keep them out of the lineup.

Athletes are also receiving top care from health professionals, whereas in years past, they would simply take a few painkillers and get back on the pitch. Teams at the highest level have far more reported injuries due to the perceived minor ones being taken seriously. 

Summary

While these are the main reasons some clubs have more injuries than others, sometimes it comes down to just plain dumb luck. Even the most conditioned and experienced players can find themselves with a torn ACL or a concussion from just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Injuries happen all the time, and they’ll continue to happen to your favorite club, unfortunately. 

5 Websites That Frequently Go Down

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Very few things are as frustrating as doing something on your computer or phone, and then all of a sudden, it’s not working. We tend to first blame our equipment and throw around a few choice words, but it might not be a problem on your end at all. There are certain websites that are known to go down pretty frequently, so the problem could be on their end instead of yours. Here are the five websites that go down the most frequently, telling users that sometimes “it’s not you, it’s me.”

1. Discord

While there are plenty of voice, video, and instant messaging apps available, Discord is the one that has caught on most with the younger generations as it’s more casual than business. Discord is popular with gamers for voice chat and has communities for online interests, increasing in popularity on a large scale each year.

Due to the insane amount of bandwidth that’s required for so many video chats and different channels while also increasing dramatically in users on a daily basis, Discord is suscept to crashes quite frequently. The servers aren’t able to keep up sometimes, and Discord has been known to go down for hours at a time on occasion, though becoming more of a rarity as the years go on.

2. Steam

Game launchers are all of the rage for publishers, but the original will likely be the most popular until the end of time, and that’s Steam. Steam launched back in 2003 and has been a mainstay of the internet ever since, with people from all over the world using the client to download and play games, most of which are played online.

When a popular new game comes out, Steam can sometimes crash due to the influx in web traffic as people get their hands on the game. On a daily basis, you’ll see Steam crash in many major cities around the world, though it doesn’t tend to last for long. So many people downloading the same game at once can cause the servers to hiccup.

3. Instagram

Instagram may be the most surprising website to be featured on the list since most of the website is simply images being posted by people without too many frills. However, that hasn’t stopped Instagram from crashing and going down frequently. In most cases, users will find that their news feed failed to load or that they can’t even log in to the site.

Only a handful of cases for Instagram have been because of the website totally crashing and becoming unusable. While Instagram says that the more common issues are because of a user’s internet connection, it’s usually high traffic or a bug that causes your feed to sit there with the loading icon while trying to refresh.

4. YouTube

We go from perhaps the most surprising website to the least surprising. With hundreds of thousands of hours worth of video being uploaded to YouTube every single day, there are bound to be some freezes and crashes on the site. That much bandwidth and data happening around the world at one time is a stress test for servers, even if they are owned by Google.

Typically, YouTube outages don’t last for very long as Google makes more money from YouTube than anything, so they make it a top priority for fixes. Most outages are caused by servers being overloaded or Google performing maintenance so that a major and lengthy outage doesn’t occur.

5. Microsoft Teams

Earlier we discussed Discord and how it goes down so frequently because of its daily increase in popularity and high volume of video chatting and instant messaging. The same applies to Microsoft Teams, especially as the world becomes more virtual with remote workers. Even in-office, Teams is popular for chatting and can crash frequently.

With group video chats that can host hundreds of people, you’re likely to see a slowdown in the video before it ultimately crashes. Those that work for major companies that use Teams are probably surprised that it’s not the most frequently downed site.