Just minutes after we wrote about Ryan Fitzpatrick retiring, we get word that Alex Mack, Center for the San Francisco 49ers is also retiring.  

A two-time Morris winner at California, Mack was a First Round Pick in 2009 (21^st Overall) by the Cleveland Browns, and he stepped in immediately under Quarterback and under the learning tree of future Hall of Fame Lineman, Joe Thomas, would make the Pro Bowl in his sophomore season.  A Pro Bowler again in 2013 and 2015, Mack joined the Atlanta Falcons, where he earned three more Pro Bowl Selections, before finishing his career in 2021 as a San Francisco 49er, where he earned Pro Bowl number seven.

Before the 2021 Season, Mack was listed at #50 among active players to consider for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  He is Canton eligible in 2027, but there is a long line of Centers and Offensive Linemen ahead of him.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Alex Mack the best in his post-playing career.

Another day, and another significant retirement.

One of the most intriguing career of an NFL Quarterback is coming to an end as Ryan Fitzpatrick has retired from the game.  He last played for Washington, suffering a season-ending hip injury in last year’s opening game.

From Harvard, Fitzpatrick was a Seventh Round Pick in 2005 by the St. Louis Rams, but he did not see any significant action until he was with the Buffalo Bills, where he had three straight 3,000 Yard years.  He would also exceed that mark once with the Jets, and once with the Dolphins while throwing for 34,990 Yards in total.  Fitzpatrick also played for Cincinnati, Tennessee, Houston and Tampa and retired with 223 Touchdown Passes.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Ryan Fitzpatrick the best in his post-playing career.

Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA as it’s more commonly known, has become more popular than ever in recent years. Once considered a niche sport, organizations such as the UFC have helped to push MMA into the mainstream, gaining millions of fans around the world. Today, the UFC is the world’s best-known MMA organization, but new promotions are constantly emerging as the demand for more fights grows. Fans of MMA are always interested in seeing their favorite fighters, and the sport is always developing as new techniques and styles reach the top.

As well as being extremely exciting to watch, MMA can be a lot of fun to bet on. All major sportsbooks will offer odds on the UFC, and many also offer the chance to bet on other organisations such as Bellator and One Championship. It’s one of the most interesting sports to bet on because of how unpredictable it can be. For this reason, you always need to be responsible when betting. If you’re looking to bet on MMA at Betway or any other sportsbook and have success, make sure you follow these tips.

Consider That Styles Make Fights

In MMA, different styles can work much better against some styles than others. This creates a kind of rock, paper, scissors effect, where a fighter might look bad in one fight against a certain type of opposition but then dominate in another fight. In a lot of cases, modern MMA fighters are more well-rounded than in previous years, but you still sometimes get specialists that are only good in one particular area of martial arts. For example, a fighter that’s very strong in jiu-jitsu may struggle against a striking specialist but excel against a wrestler.

This is very important to consider when placing a bet, as form by itself isn’t the only indicator of performance. It also means you can often find great value in the odds if you pay close attention. For example, a grappler who lost his last two fights would likely be an underdog, even if they’re facing someone with poor ground game.

Root for the Underdog

In MMA, the underdog can win much more frequently than in other sports. This will vary a lot depending on the organization itself, but in the UFC, it’s around 30% of the time that the favorite will be beaten. This can lead to some big wins if you’re smart with your bets. All you have to do is analyze each fight and judge whether you think the underdog has a chance.

It can simply take one punch or a mistake on the ground for a fight to be over, meaning that underdogs almost always have a chance of winning. There have been some big upsets recently, especially in women’s MMA. A good example was Amanda Nunes losing to Juliana Peña at UFC 269. Before the fight, Peña was a +600 underdog.

Follow the Weigh-Ins

In MMA, the weigh-ins are a crucial part of the fight, with most fighters shedding water weight before rehydrating to balance the scales and the odds of the fight in their favor. Using these techniques, fighters can be significantly heavier than their measured weight when they enter the cage. The idea is to gain an advantage over your opponent by being heavier and therefore stronger and harder to take down.

While weigh-ins can be beneficial for fighters, they’re a bit of a double-edged sword. By dehydrating themselves, fighters can affect their health and performance during the fight. A bad weight cut can cause serious issues, and many fighters have been hospitalized. Because of the impact it can have on the fight, it’s always worth paying close attention to how each fighter weighed in. Did the favorite look weak stepping onto the scale, and did they weigh in at the last minute? These can help you find value in the odds. 

The adrenaline rush that race cars provoke is one of the main reasons many students pursue race car driving careers or hobbies parallel to their academic endeavors. However, while the desire to drive through the racetrack curves is a strong motivator, it’s not easy keeping up with the pace that two so complex and long-term undertakings require. If you’re thinking about taking on racecar driving while studying, here is what you need to know.

We did some research and considered the general position of students nowadays to come up with a few tips on how to become a racer while chasing your college degree at the same time.

You need to start small if you don’t have millions

To get into a major racing series, you need a lot of money if you can’t attract a sponsor or convince a team owner that you deserve a seat in their car on the track. Therefore, it's best to start building your experience and reputation in a minor event such as seasonal kart racing at a local track. It doesn’t cost too much to apply for a kart racing season and it's safe and easy to learn how to manage yourself on the track if you do it with a smaller and slower vehicle.

If you do well, you can even make it into advanced racing series in a few years, and college is about the right time to start preparing for a racing career because it’s presumed that you already have some experience as a driver, so your experience level is ready for an upgrade. Commit yourself to your goal, no matter how much time it takes you to achieve it because getting up from the bottom is difficult, especially when there’s big money involved. 

Organize your life to secure enough time and money

Considering you’re not a millionaire looking for some way to fill in your weekend, you have to organize your schedule according to some adjustments in your lifestyle. You need to make time for every practice and race, which is the easy part because you also have to make money to pay for it all. 

Making time during college is easy, you can find writers who write your essay for you in English and have them deal with some of your academic tasks to clear a portion of your schedule boxes. Just like time, money is also difficult to come by, especially as a student so this is where it also comes to you to decide how you’re going to achieve this goal. Consider the influence of networking with people you meet on the kart racetrack, as well as those you see off it. Through networking and communication, you could meet the right people to help you move up in the race car world.

Social media also allows you to promote yourself and even make some money through various marketing opportunities that platforms such as Instagram and TikTok offer to their users. You can utilize the power of social networks to attract sponsorship deals that would help you maintain your expenses as you break on through the steep path to higher ranks. As you advance as a racer, your social media activity can play a huge role in which teams decide to approach you or consider your application.

Learn about racing cars all the time

To predict the reaction of your vehicle and learn to fully control it on the track while surrounded by other drivers all of whom are trying to overturn you, it’s imperative to have profound knowledge of how your car works in detail. Racing cars suffer major damage and overgo brutal stress testing with each race so knowing the limit when a part might malfunction of brake might even save your life. Mechanical training makes every racer able to perform quick repairs when needed and allows them to make informed decisions regarding the status of their car during the race, which could save time, car parts, or even human lives.

Conclusion

Every driver can get into a car and drive as fast as the car can go, there’s nothing to it. However, to drive a car very fast under constant pressure from all sides and keeping control of the situation the entire time is an extreme effort. Therefore, becoming a racecar driver is much like trying to be a jet pilot which means there’s a lot of competition and you need to dedicate yourself entirely to succeed. 

Author Bio:

Joel Strachan is a freelance content driver engaged with several online publishers. His work is based on deep research and authentic sources of information. As a writer, Joel aims to deliver practical and informative content that helps the audience solve everyday issues or fulfill their interests.