Catalog Search Results
1) Auto racing
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From the time cars were invented just before the turn of the 20th century, men have loved driving fast in them. It was almost a compulsion of pioneers like Emile Levassor and Karl Benz to make their machines go fast. Racing fever began in Europe, with races happening from point to point, city to city, on existing roads. Open-wheel road racing there evolved into the super high tech, big budget sport of Formula One racing. American open-wheel racing...
2) Baseball
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Baseball is known as America's national pastime, but its popularity did not happen overnight. The modern game evolved in the late 1800s in the Midwest, and by the turn of the century, Americans were telling stories about heroic exploits on the baseball diamond. Players from Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth to Andrew McCutchen and Albert Pujols have thrilled fans with dramatic late-inning plays and thrilling World Series winning hits. The constant simplicity...
3) Basketball
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No major sport is as uniquely American as basketball. The sport has come a long way since students at a Massachusetts YMCA started throwing balls into peach baskets nailed to the wall. Today, some of the world's most spectacular athletes soar through the air in feats of athleticism on the basketball court. With the advent of the shot clock and the three pointer, the game became more exciting over the years. The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is...
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Jump off a cliff. Slide down a mountain. Soar 20 feet above a snowy halfpipe. These are just a few of the things extreme sport athletes willingly do every day, things the average person would never consider attempting. With the overwhelming success of sports network ESPN's X Games, the subculture of extreme sports became mainstream, even becoming part of the Olympic Games. American snowboarder Shaun White became not just one of the most popular...
5) Football
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The 1958 NFL Championship game is known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played", and the nationally televised overtime thriller had the country buzzing about NFL football for the first time, launching the sport into the stratosphere. College football had been the version of choice when it came to football but after 1958, however, stars like Jim Brown and Joe Namath took advantage of the sport's newfound exposure to make watching NFL football appointment...
6) Golf
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The game of golf originated, grew and thrived in 18th and 19th century Scotland. Wooden clubs were used to hit wooden balls across the natural dunes and valleys of the Scottish coastline. The game spread across to the United States in the late 1800s. Some of the game's greatest players come from America, from Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods to Patty Berg, Kathy Whitworth, and Nancy Lopez. The rest of the world caught up quickly, however,...
7) Gymnastics
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Once a discipline for training soldiers for combat, gymnastics has evolved into a sport that emphasizes not only strength but also artistry and grace as well. Modern gymnasts compete with the lofty goal of someday making it to the Summer Olympic Games, where gymnastics are one of the most popular events. Athletes from countries like Russia, Romania and Japan dominated the sport through most of the 20th century, with stars like Olga Korbut, Nadia Comaneci,...
8) Ice hockey
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Ice hockey is Canada's game. The modern version was crafted in Montréal, and it spread across the country on frozen ponds and lakes. Most of the game's greatest players are Canadians, but even in the early days of the sports, the American influence was felt. Hobey Baker was the first great American player. He was captain of the Princeton hockey team and led his amateur team to a national championship. Baker never played the pro game, however, choosing...
9) Lacrosse
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An ancient sport of an ancient people, lacrosse has been played in North America for centuries. Part of the ritual of their lives and cultures, lacrosse was a sport practiced more so than played by the native people of eastern Canada and the North Eastern United States. European settlers were fascinated by the game, and over the centuries, it evolved to the sport with modern rules and modern equipment that is played in high schools and colleges across...
10) Soccer
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Around the world, soccer is known as "the beautiful game." It is the biggest and most popular sport on the planet, and its signature event, the World Cup, is the most watched televised event, even more than the Olympics or the Super Bowl. The sport can be found almost everywhere in the world. From children on the playgrounds of modern cities to those in the remote fields of developing countries, the love of the simple act of kicking the ball back...
11) Tennis
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A game with ancient origins, the modern sport of tennis flourished in late 19th century England. The success of the first tournament at Wimbledon's All England Croquet Club quickly led to the beginning of the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. Tennis is now one of the world's most popular sports. Tennis is played on six continents, and today, more than 40 countries are represented among the top 100 players on the men's and women's tours. The...
12) Track & field
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World's Fastest Human. That is the title bestowed on the man with the best time in the 100 meter dash. This event is the centerpiece of track and field, the collective name for events that are based on running, jumping and throwing. Who is the fastest? Who can jump the highest? Who can throw the farthest? These are the questions men have been challenging each other to answer for centuries. The World's Fastest Human was Jamaica's Usain Bolt in 2015,...
13) Wrestling
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The sport of wrestling is quite possibly the oldest athletic pursuit of humankind. It has been depicted or described in one form or another for thousands of years and was especially celebrated by the ancient Greeks at the original Olympiads. In modern times, wrestling has been a part of every Olympic Games since they were revived in 1896. The sport developed two distinct styles: Greco-Roman and Freestyle, both of which are featured prominently on...