Is there a golfer in your life? Then you know that the one things golfers love more than golf are silly golf gadgets and weird golf stuff. (Oh, and ugly plaid pants. Golfers, love those, too.) Potty Putter We don’t want to encourage doing anything to pass the time in the bathroom other that reading […]

Sports fans are used to their favorite team having ups and downs over the years. In a way, these teams never let their supporters down…because they fell apart before playing a single game. Basketball in Buffalo In 1949 the two most promising pro basketball leagues in America merged to become today’s NBA: the National Basketball […]

July was a big month for French sports. Not only did France just win the World Cup, but they hosted another popular event in the Tour de France. Let’s cycle through some trivia about the biggest thing on two wheels. 21 stages The riders don’t race the whole thing all at once, because that would […]

The most famous “curse” in sports—the one that seemingly prevented the Chicago Cubs from winning a World Series in more than a century—has been lifted. Here are some other, lesser-known sports curses. The Curse of the Honey Bears Emboldened by the extreme popularity and success of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in the 1970s, many NFL […]

There are some big differences between soccer and the more popular-in-America sports—the game clock counts up, and the “field” is called the “pitch,” for example. One similarity: colorful (if informal) team nicknames. Here are some of the best national team nicknames from around the world. Clockwork Orange Orange is the national color of the Netherlands […]

Every four years, the greatest players from the greatest national teams across the globe come together to contest the FIFA World Cup of soccer. Some bask in the glory of victory forever…and then there are these guys. Least successful national team Some teams have dominated world soccer for decades. Brazil, for example, has won the […]

The World Cup is a time of celebration and glory for soccer players and their billions of fans around the globe. But in pursuit of the most illustrious championship in sports, some athletes paid the ultimate price. Sam Okwaraji Nigerian-born midfielder Sam Okwaraji left home for Europe to earn a Ph.D., but he got a […]

The U.S. isn’t the only place where basketball is a big deal. The sport is incredibly popular in China, where both local stars as well as NBA icons are household names. Well, sort of, because they’re perhaps more widely known by their colorful nicknames. LeBron James In the U.S., the most dominant player of the […]

Will you be one of the one billion or so people who will sit down and watch a 2018 World Cup match? Maybe you’ll witness yet another bizarre at this, the most popular sporting event in the world. Stay hydrated Many players of all different sports have certain in-game rituals to which they must adhere. […]

What are “the yips”? It’s sports slang for when an athlete chokes under pressure…or makes a rapid, and spectacular collapse. Hey, they’re only human—and here are some the worst instances of the yips in sports history. Ernie Els  The yips can even affect the all-time greats, like Els, at one time the top-ranked golfer in […]

Two of baseball’s most famous curses have been “lifted”—the Curse of the Bambino, which supposed that Babe Ruth leaving Boston for the Yankees meant the Red Sox would never win a World Series was broken in 2004, while the man with a goat kicked out of Wrigley Field proclaimed the Cubs would never go all […]

In 1892, Canada’s Governor General Lord Stanley donated the trophy that now bears his name to be awarded to the country’s top ice hockey team. Today, it’s the coveted prize for NHL champions…who tend to misplace the thing, even though it’s gigantic and famous. Into the canal The Ottawa Hockey Club or “Silver Seven” won […]

Every professional athlete wants to win a championship for their team. It’s the culmination of a season, or career, and the ultimate in glory on the field, court, or diamond. Beyond beating all comers, there are other advantages to winning a title—as in a substantial cash bonus. KENTUCKY DERBY On the first Saturday in May, […]

The 2018 Stanley Cup Finals will pit the Washington Capitals against the Vegas Golden Knights. If you don’t follow hockey closely, did you even know that there was a team in Las Vegas? There is, and they’re making history. First* The 2017-18 season is the Vegas Golden Knights’ inaugural season. Expansion teams are traditionally terrible—it […]

Another exciting baseball season has begun, so here’s a look at some of the zaniest and wonderful contributions to Major League Baseball by one the game’s most innovative and entertaining owner, Bill Veeck (1914–1986), who once held stakes in the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago White Sox. Park-wide singing of “Take Me Out […]

With the NBA Playoffs underway, basketball is all about drama and excitement at the moment. Sometimes, however, pro basketball is just downright strange. How foul Bubba Wells played just one year in the NBA, as a reserve for the Dallas Mavericks. In a tight, December 1997 game against the Chicago Bulls, Mavericks coach Don Nelson […]

The colloquial term “big 4” refers to the four major team sports organizations in the United States and Canada: Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League. That should probably be “big 5.” Here are some facts about Major League Soccer…which is much more popular than you […]

Las Vegas is one of the biggest cities in America, but it only recently got its first major pro sports team—the Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL. (They won their division and are cruising through the playoffs in their first season—unprecedented for an expansion team.) Sports in Vegas were a long time coming—here are some […]