Sports
2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jackie Robinson, the baseball legend who, in 1947, broke the sport’s color barrier by becoming the first African-American in the major leagues. He’s a brave pioneer for sure, just like these other men and women who integrated their lines of work. NBA The NBA was only […]
Baseball is back, and it’s the national pastime. But it’s a 150-year-old game at this point. How about we try one of these “national sports” from around the world a try? Buzkashi It’s the national sport of Afghanistan. Like polo or pato, it’s played on horseback. And like old-school pato, it involves a dead animal. […]
As basketball’s postseason heats up, here’s a look into the teams that have historically fared quite poorly. Longest current playoff drought The Sacramento Kings finished in ninth place in the Western Conference for the 2018-19 season, just barely missing out on one of eight playoff spots. That marked the 13th straight year that the team […]
The first Saturday in May means it’s time for “the greatest two minutes in sports” — the running of the Kentucky Derby. Horses and jockey have competed annually since 1875 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, and promoters, fans, and partiers have helped make the brief race into an all-day event with a number of […]
Sports aren’t just played on a simple “field” — they’re contested on all sorts of surfaces and terrains. Here are the origins behind a few of them. GRIDIRON It’s often used as a synonym for football — as in the “American” style, as played in the NFL, not soccer. It was actually first used decades […]
What’s one of the best parts of the summer? Minor league baseball. What’s the second-best part of the summer? Reading this article about the kooky names of minor league baseball. Savannah Bananas The potassium-rich yellow fruit does not grow naturally in Georgia, but hey, when you’ve got a team name that can rhyme with the […]
The baseball season has begun, and what better way to fill the long gaps between pitches by filling up your belly? Here are some of the most creative, interesting, and daunting concession items now available at Major League ballparks. Foot long hot dogs are yesterday’s news. They’re downright tiny when you compare them to the […]
Some athletes retire at the top of their game — Joe DiMaggio walked away from baseball in 1951 just after winning his ninth World Series, and David Robinson walked off the NBA court for good in 2003, immediately after winning his second league title. Some other athletes just couldn’t stay away from the game they […]
Usually when professional sports teams change names it’s because they moved cities. Sometimes they do it for marketing reasons. Or they decide at the last minute to not change it, or do change it and overlook some other options. NEW JERSEY SWAMP DRAGONS By the early ‘90s, the NBA’s Nets had existed for more than […]
Baseball season is about ready to start, and some people are about to get very rich: the people who play it. Here’s a look back on some important money milestones in the national pastime. First to earn $10,000 While some records say the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Honus Wagner earned a whopping five figures as early as […]
We’re not sure if “weird golf” is a thing, let alone if it “rules,” but here are some strange and odd stipulations golfers must follow when they’re out there on the links. Cactus dangers The golf rule book seems to have every contingency covered, including what to do if a hit ball lands by a cactus. […]
People on opposite teams may fight, but once in a while the spirit of competition gets so intense that people on the same team come to blows. KERR VS. JORDAN Today, Steve Kerr is one of the most successful coaches in the NBA, guiding the Golden State Warriors to three league titles in the last […]
It takes a lot of money to buy even a portion of a pro sports team. How’s someone supposed to get those millions of dollars together? Try being a huge success in the world of entertainment! Who has stakes in the Arena Football League? Over the last 30 years, lots of upstart football leagues have […]
Professional sports are big business, with millions of dollars regularly changing hands between players and management. But a giant fortune isn’t everything, it would seem. No dogs allowed From 2011 to 2013, Steve Novak played at forward for the New York Knicks. In that same time, he was contractually forbidden from owning a dog. Reason: […]
Back in the ‘80s, there was almost a second huge pro baseball league. It fell apart before a single pitch was thrown. Trying to buy a team In addition to acquiring properties and developing real estate in New York, Donald Trump spent a good deal of time in the 1980s trying to buy a Major […]
Performing at the Super Bowl halftime show is one of the biggest gigs in music — a singer or band has truly “made it” if they’re asked to play for a stadium full of 90,000 people and a TV audience of a billion or so. And yet quite a few of those who have been […]
College football is one of the oldest sports in the country, with east coast teams squaring off on the gridiron in the late 1800s. Here are some of the oldest players to ever play the game — as in they weren’t exactly of the “traditional” college age. Joe Thomas, Sr. The oldest guy to ever […]
The 2018 “Fall Classic” is all over. The Boston Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games to win its ninth overall World Series. It was a bit of a nutty postseason, and here are some of the records that were set since the end of the regular season. Longest game ever The […]
