That's Fit

A few months back I went to a place I like to call "Man Heaven" and wrote a few articles about it. Man Heaven is also known as ESPN: The Weekend at the Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida. The event was jam packed with dozens and dozens of your sports lovers' heroes from today and yesteryear. Football, basketball, baseball, tennis, hockey and golf stars flooded the theme park with ample opportunity for each Disney guest to get up close and personal with the athletic love of their life.

Of course, there were also a ton of female fans decked out in their team jerseys, but truly....this event was for boys. Young boys, elderly boys, and every boy in between. I saw big groups of men in coordinating jerseys riding the tram to the park, and then I saw tons of father/son duos shooting baskets with their favorite hoops star.

The event isn't until early next March, so you'll have plenty of time to book your air, hotel, and ticket reservations. He'll have lots of time to squirm with anticipation for the big event. Trust me.....if your guy loves sports, he will love ESPN: The Weekend and love you even more for sending him to it.

It can be hard to be a female athlete, especially one who is really serious about her sport -- she's tough on the court, but that doesn't mean she can't be feminine in her everyday life. And as far as the WNBA is concerned, their girls should be more girly because it'll boost attendance.

Women's sports aren't as popular as men's, but the WNBA is hoping that by helping its athletes learn to apply makeup and look sexier, it will draw more fans. If, instead of only drawing crowds made of girls who dream of playing pro sports the league can bring in the male demographic that attends NBA games, they can increase their profit, and therefore expand the league, giving more girls the opportunity to play ball professionally.

I have no problem with looking girly while working out harder than the boys, but I don't like the idea of it being forced upon anyone. Rookies entering the NBA will receive makeup and shopping training along with financial coaching during their orientation, and while I'm sure some players will be excited about the opportunity, I know a lot of the girls I played ball with would resent anyone trying to make sexier. What do you think?

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

I recently had the opportunity to spend time with Shane "Scooter" Christensen of the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters. Now, when handed the opportunity to pick the brain of a Globetrotter....I had to learn some skills! Cause quite frankly, when it comes to basketball....I have none. Well, I had none until I met Scooter. Now I know how to dunk.

Here at That's Fit, we're forever grateful for the service, courage and sacrifice made by the heroic men and women who serve as military, law enforcement officers, and firefighters. We're so grateful, that we'd like to dedicate some features to both showing our heroes off, and learning a little bit in the process as well. If you serve your country courageously, are a veteran or know someone who does, please return this form completed to Fitz along with a photo and we'll share your story with the world.

Name: Frank Kinsey

Age: 29

Heroic Occupation: Deputy Sheriff

How often do you exercise? Two to three times a week.

What type of exercise do you do? I lift weights, run and play basketball.

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

I recently spent some time with Shane "Scooter" Christensen, one of the multi-talented athletes of the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters. Shane played at the University of Montana, leading his team to the NCAAA tournament in 1992 and was twice awarded the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the year. With his combination of elite athleticism on the court and fantastic comedic and dancing skills, The World Famous Harlem Globetrotters turned out to be the perfect professional team for Scooter.

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Those Wednesday night b-ball games starting to do a number on your knees? As much as icing them every night may help, it may take a pain reliever to help you really start to feel better.

The good news is that there's a new treatment for joint pain -- actually, it's for people who suffer from osteo-arthritis, so clearly it's some strong stuff -- called Voltaren Gel, and unlike aspirin, it is not ingested but instead applied directly to the joint. According to Men's Health magazine, this gel may mean the end of popping pills to reduce joint pain, as well as running the risk of pill-related stomach ulcers.

If your joint pain is starting to become too much to bear, ask your doctor if he or she thinks that this new gel is right for you. The one downside, I suppose, is that you won't be able to blame your bad knees for why you got dunked on.

Have you ever been playing a basketball game and it was so intense and fast-paced that you couldn't take the time to look up at the scoreboard?

Well, I haven't (at least not in a long time), but for those of you who have experienced this, you're in luck, or, at least, you will be. An Australian company is working on jerseys that have "electro-luminescent displays" which will show information for the players, like the score and time left.

Beer and chips and nachos, oh my! It's amazing how certain times of year can turn a sport -- something that's supposed to be a healthy activity -- into a supremely non-healthy activity for its fans. Hours in front of the TV munching on calorie and fat-laden snacks does not turn you into an athlete like you see on the screen. You're more likely to walk away from a sports season a few pounds heavier than anything. If you find yourself hopelessly glued to the tube for March Madness, take a look at Revolution Health's 16 tips to help you get through March Madness sanely and healthfully. Check out the gallery to see the tips.

After a recent dinner at a buffet-style restaurant, my husband was complaining of his aching gut. Ironically, an article in the magazine he was reading said that a recent study found that people eat more at buffets, even if they aren't hungry. He groaned a little louder and went to find an antacid.

"All-you-can-eat" are dangerous words in this world of super-sized portions. Sports venues have recently taken the idea and made it their own, however, offering fans all-you-can-eat seats. The tickets cost about 50% more and all the food and drinks (barring alcohol) are "free."

The trend has dietitians worried. Typical stadium fare is far from health food, and sports fans are kicking back cheap hot dogs, popcorn, and giant sodas while they cheer on their favorite team. Though a handful of teams have expanded the menu to include healthier options, such as salad bars, it's more cost effective for venues to provide junk food instead. Maybe they should start offering antacids as well...

Forbes published some tips for choosing the best sneakers for your sport, and to be honest, I found it a bit lacking. They covered a lot of running and outdoor sports, but some of the sports for which shoes are really important (like volleyball and basketball) were totally left off.

I did a little research and added what sounded like the best shoes for those sports. However, it's important to remember your sport-specific needs when shopping for a shoe. If you will be making quick, side-to-side movements, you'll need different support than you would for running a marathon. If you really don't know what you need, try to find a store that specializes in your sport and ask for help. The right shoes might not make you a better athlete, but they will make your sport more enjoyable.

I just returned from a place I've decided to be Man Heaven. Man Heaven is a place where loads and loads of men dressed in various colored athletic jerseys giddily board trams with feverish excitement to spend time with their favorite sports heroes. These men were squirming in their seats, beaming bright smiles and high-fiving their way all the way to the entrance gates of Disney World's Hollywood Studios. ESPN the Weekend is Man Heaven.

The weekend was filled with endless opportunities to meet, train with, question and listen to America's favorite ESPN stars: Donovan McNabb, Tony Gonzalez, Hershel Walker, John Stockton, Cal Ripken Jr., Chris Carter and more. Oodles of ESPN Sportscasters took stages across the park hosting their own scheduled and aired ESPN shows, and also hosted other fun question and answer sessions with the stars of Man Heaven.

I've spent many, many hours coaching youth sports -- girls' volleyball and basketball, mainly -- so I'm pretty sure I'll forever keep my ears perked up for ideas on how to help kids learn about sports. A recent article in The Newark Advocate had just that -- teach kids to love sports by letting them tell you how to play.

Think about it -- kids love to play because it allows them to be creative. If you're trying to teach your daughter to play basketball, by all means teach her the basics of shooting, passing, and dribbling, but let her use her imagination to create new ways to play the game.

Are you looking for a basketball shoe that has proven itself as a quality shoe over the years, but do you also want it to be environmentally friendly? Look no further than the latest incarnation of the Air Jordan: the AJXX3.

Michael Jordan wore the number 23 in the glory days with the Chicago Bulls, and with this shoe being the 23rd version of the basketball classic, Jordan decided to do something a little different. This will be the first shoe in Nike's history to reduce waste and use eco-friendly materials, like using an original system of interlocking panels instead of the toxic adhesives that are traditionally used in making sneakers.

Nike hopes that, now that they've developed the technology to make shoes a little greener, other shoe companies will follow their lead. And if you have $185 handy and are itching to have the hottest shoes on the court, you'll soon be able to hustle on out and snag yourself a pair.

Even though the Super Bowl is over, there are still plenty of great sports match-ups for fans to enjoy (I'm personally enjoying the stellar season the Celtics have had so far). As great as that is, there is an apparent downside to being a sports fan.

A study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine revealed that emergency room admissions were 40 percent higher in the hours following televised sporting events than on similar days when there were not any games taking place.

As it may be expected, these results centered around men (also known as the Gender That is Too Consumed with Weeing the End of the Game to Check Themselves into the E.R. to Deal with that Nagging Pain in their Chest -- or G.T.C.S.E.G.C.T.E.R.D.N.P.C. for "short".).

The published results came from a 3-year study held at the University of Maryland Medical Center. After reviewing records of emergency room visitation in the hours immediately following a televised sporting event, the researchers found that 50% more men showed up after a football game than while it was taking place. Baseball saw similar results, with 30 to 40% more men arriving to the emergency room after the final out had been called than during the game. Being that I didn't see any figures realted to basketball games, I feel like I can breathe a little easier.

I can distinctly recall hearing the news of the tragedy. I was in my early teens at the time, probably just turned thirteen. Basketball was my life, just as sports are to many kids of that age. I also remember watching both pro and college basketball games whenever I myself was not playing for one of the eight thousand teams (recreation league, school team, CYO team, etc.) I played on, looking up to these men as heroes. But then, the news struck that one of these players, one of these sports idols of mine, had suddenly collapsed and died during a basketball game. His name was Hank Gathers, a rising star at Loyola Marymount University that was well on his way to being drafted into the NBA.

It was determined that Gathers suffered from an abnormal heartbeat, exercise induced ventricular tachycardia. Since then, there have been reports over the years at different times about athletes who either collapsed during a game or were held back by doctors from playing a game because of a similar condition.