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Portal:Sports

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The Sports Portal

Sport in childhood. Association football, shown above, is a team sport which also provides opportunities to nurture physical fitness and social interaction skills.

Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, through casual or organized participation, improve one's physical health. Hundreds of sports exist, from those between single contestants, through to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants, either in teams or competing as individuals. In certain sports such as racing, many contestants may compete, simultaneously or consecutively, with one winner; in others, the contest (a match) is between two sides, each attempting to exceed the other. Some sports allow a "tie" or "draw", in which there is no single winner; others provide tie-breaking methods to ensure one winner and one loser. A number of contests may be arranged in a tournament producing a champion. Many sports leagues make an annual champion by arranging games in a regular sports season, followed in some cases by playoffs.

Sport is generally recognised as system of activities based in physical athleticism or physical dexterity, with major competitions such as the Olympic Games admitting only sports meeting this definition. Other organisations, such as the Council of Europe, preclude activities without a physical element from classification as sports. However, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. The International Olympic Committee (through ARISF) recognises both chess and bridge as bona fide sports, and SportAccord, the international sports federation association, recognises five non-physical sports: bridge, chess, draughts (checkers), Go and xiangqi, and limits the number of mind games which can be admitted as sports. (Full article...)

Selected articles

  • Orval Grove in 1948

    Orval Leroy Grove (August 29, 1919 – April 20, 1992) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for ten seasons in the American League with the Chicago White Sox. In 207 career games, Grove pitched 1,176 innings and posted a win–loss record of 63–73, with 66 complete games, 11 shutouts, and a 3.78 earned run average (ERA).

    The only freshman on the Proviso Township High School varsity baseball team, Grove's pitching ability attracted the attention of the White Sox. After signing with the team in 1937, Grove moved between the major leagues and minor leagues for a few seasons until 1943, when he found a solid place in the White Sox's pitching rotation. Grove had a career-year in 1943, finishing the season with career-bests in ERA, wins, and complete games; in 1944, he made his only All-Star appearance. (Full article...)
  • During the 1987–88 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division. It was the 56th season in which the club competed in the Football League, and the 38th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. In the previous season, Gillingham had qualified for the final of the play-offs for promotion to the Football League Second Division but had been defeated. The team began the new season strongly, including winning matches 8–1 and 10–0 on consecutive Saturdays, but their performances quickly declined and by December the team had slipped down the league table. After a heavy loss to Aldershot in the last game of 1987, manager Keith Peacock was dismissed from his job and replaced by his former assistant Paul Taylor, a decision which was extremely unpopular with the club's supporters. Although the team's performances improved in the second half of the season, briefly bringing them close to a potential play-off place, their form declined once again and they finished the season 13th in the 24-team division, the same position as when Peacock lost his job.

    During the season, Gillingham also reached the third round of the FA Cup and the second round of the Football League Cup, but were eliminated from the Associate Members' Cup at the earliest stage. The team played 55 competitive matches, winning 17, drawing 17, and losing 21. Steve Lovell was the club's leading goalscorer, with 27 goals in all competitions, three times as many as any other player. He also made the most appearances, playing in all of the team's 55 matches; two other players each appeared over 50 times. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home ground, Priestfield Stadium, was 9,267 for an FA Cup match against Birmingham City. (Full article...)
  • Gilligan in 1928

    Arthur Edward Robert Gilligan (23 December 1894 – 5 September 1976) was an English first-class cricketer who captained the England cricket team nine times in 1924 and 1925, winning four Test matches, losing four and drawing one. In first-class cricket, he played as an amateur, mainly for Cambridge University and Sussex, and captained the latter team between 1922 and 1929. A fast bowler and hard-hitting lower order batsman, Gilligan completed the double in 1923 and was one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year for 1924. When his playing career ended, he held several important positions in cricket, including that of England selector and president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). A popular figure within cricket, he was widely regarded as sporting and friendly. During his playing days, Gilligan was a member of the British Fascists. He came to the notice of the Australian secret service during the 1924–25 MCC tour, and it is possible he helped to establish small fascist groups in Australia. It is unknown how long he remained a member, but the organisation practically ceased to exist by 1926.

    Gilligan played cricket for Dulwich College before the First World War, then for Cambridge, twice winning his blue. He briefly played county cricket for Surrey but moved to Sussex in 1920. Following a slow start to his county career, he rapidly improved and in partnership with Maurice Tate established a formidable bowling reputation. First playing for England in 1922, he was appointed Test captain in 1924. In the latter year, Gilligan was at the height of his form when he suffered a blow to his heart while batting. The strain affected his bowling, which was never again as effective, but he still captained England in Australia during the 1924–25 season. The series was lost, but both he and his team were popular and respected. In following years, he played less frequently; he resigned as Sussex captain in 1929 and retired three years later. He subsequently became a writer, journalist and cricket commentator while maintaining his connections with Sussex. (Full article...)
  • Mark Anthony Kerry (born 4 August 1959) is an Australian former backstroke and freestyle swimmer of the 1970s and 1980s, who won three Olympic medals, including a gold in the 4 × 100 m medley relay at the 1980 Summer Olympics as the backstroker for the Quietly Confident Quartet. During his career, he won twelve Australian Championships.

    Initially trained by his mother, Kerry enjoyed success in swimming and surf lifesaving as a teenager. His swimming career progressed to senior Australian standards after he switched to the tutelage of John Rigby and moved to Queensland. He made his debut at the 1976 Australian Championships and promptly won the 200 m freestyle and backstroke events to win selection for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal at the age of 16. At the Olympics, Kerry reached the final in two events, coming seventh and fifth in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke respectively. Kerry was disappointed with his performances, but they attracted the attention of American coach Doc Counsilman, who invited Kerry to swim under him at the Indiana University. Kerry set Australian records while in the United States, but his international career hit trouble when he was expelled from the 1978 Commonwealth Games team for breaking a curfew. (Full article...)
  • Henry in 2021

    Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. He is considered one of the greatest strikers of all time and one of the greatest players in the history of the Premier League. In 2003 and 2004, Henry was the runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year, and was runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in the former year. He was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice, the FWA Footballer of the Year three times, and was named in the PFA Team of the Year six consecutive times. He was also included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI once and the UEFA Team of the Year five times. He was one of the most commercially marketed footballers during the 2000s. Henry, along with Alan Shearer, was one of the inaugural inductees into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021.

    Henry made his professional debut with Monaco in 1994 before signing for defending Serie A champions Juventus. However, limited playing time, coupled with disagreements with the club's hierarchy, led to him signing for English Premier League club Arsenal for £11 million in 1999. Under long-time mentor and coach Arsène Wenger, Henry became a prolific striker and Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 228 goals in all competitions. He won the Premier League Golden Boot a record four times, won two FA Cups and two Premier League titles with the club, including one during an unbeaten season dubbed The Invincibles. He spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. In June 2007, he transferred to Barcelona. In the 2008–09 season, Henry was a key part of the club's historic treble when they won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League. In 2010, he joined New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer (MLS), but returned to Arsenal on loan for two months in 2012, before retiring in 2014. (Full article...)
  • The 2003 Insight Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the California Golden Bears at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 26, 2003. The game was the final contest of the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams, and ended in a 52–49 victory for California. Virginia Tech and Cal combined for 101 points; only the 2001 GMAC Bowl saw more points scored by two teams in a bowl game without overtime.

    During the 2003 college football season, Virginia Tech accumulated an 8–4 regular-season record that included four losses in the Hokies' final six regular-season games. As the third-place team in the Big East Conference, Tech accepted a bid to the 2003 Insight Bowl. Facing the Hokies were the California Golden Bears, who went 7–6 during the regular season, tying for third place in the Pacific-10 (Pac-10). (Full article...)
  • Modern depiction (1876) by Jean Léon Gérôme of a chariot race in Rome's Circus Maximus, as if seen from the starting gate. The Palatine Hill and Imperial palace are to the left


    Chariot racing (Greek: ἁρματοδρομία, translit. harmatodromia, Latin: ludi circenses) was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. Chariot racing was dangerous to both drivers and horses as they often suffered serious injury and even death. These dangers added to the excitement and interest for spectators. Chariot races could also be watched by women, who were banned from watching many other sports. In the ancient Olympic Games, as well as the other Panhellenic Games, the sport was one of the most important equestrian events. Each chariot held a single driver and was usually pulled by 4 horses.

    In the Roman form of chariot racing, teams represented different groups of financial backers and sometimes competed for the services of particularly skilled drivers. Spectators generally chose to support a single team, identifying themselves strongly with its fortunes, and violence sometimes broke out between rival factions. The rivalries were sometimes politicized, when teams became associated with competing social or religious ideas. Roman and later Byzantine emperors, mistrustful of private organisations, took control of the teams, especially the Blues and Greens and appointed many officials to oversee them. (Full article...)
  • Florence Nagle (26 October 1894 – 30 October 1988) was a British trainer and breeder of racehorses, a breeder of pedigree dogs, and an active feminist. Nagle purchased her first Irish Wolfhound in 1913, and went on to own or breed twenty-one United Kingdom Champions. Best in Show at Crufts in 1960 was awarded to Sulhamstead Merman, who was bred, owned and exhibited by Nagle. She also competed successfully in field trials with Irish Setters, from the 1920s until the mid-1960s resulting in eighteen Field Trial Champions. The male dog who was a linchpin in the 1970s revival of the Irish Red and White Setter breed was descended from one of Nagle's Irish Setters.

    Described as "the Mrs. Pankhurst of British horse racing", Nagle trained her first racehorse in 1920, the Irish-bred colt Fernley. At that time women were forced to employ men to hold a Jockey Club trainers licence on their behalf, or to have licences in their husbands' names. Nagle worked peacefully to redress such injustices to her sex. She successfully challenged the well-established leading gentlemen's clubs of the racing and canine worlds over their gender inequality, and in 1966 became one of the first two women in the United Kingdom licensed to train racehorses. The first racehorse officially trained in Nagle's name was Mahwa, registered as being owned by her friend Miss Newton Deakin, with whom she jointly owned some of her dogs. (Full article...)
  • The Ramblin' Wreck with cheerleaders and Buzz at a football game against Samford in 2007.

    The Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech is the 1930 Ford Model A Sport coupe that serves as the official mascot of the student body at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The Wreck is present at all major sporting events and student body functions. Its most noticeable role is leading the football team into Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field, a duty which the Wreck has performed since 1961. The Ramblin' Wreck is mechanically and financially maintained on campus by students in Ramblin' Reck Club.

    The first mechanical Wreck was a 1914 Ford Model T owned by Dean Floyd Field. Until the current Wreck was donated to the school in 1961, most of the early Ramblin' Wrecks were owned by students, faculty or alumni. The modern Wreck has donned a number of different paint jobs and has had several restorations and modifications made to it. These changes were made by various individuals and organizations over the years, including Bobby Dodd and Georgia Tech Alumni Pete George, who worked at the Ford plant in Hapeville, Georgia. The upkeep of the Wreck has been the sole responsibility of Ramblin' Reck Club and the Wreck driver since 1987. (Full article...)
  • Mucho Macho Man at 2013 Breeders Cup.jpg

    Mucho Macho Man (foaled June 15, 2008) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic. He was foaled in Florida and named after the Village People song "Macho Man". His breeders were Carole and John Rio of Florida, who owned his dam. His foalhood nickname was "Lazarus" because he appeared lifeless at birth, but spontaneously revived. He grew to be a very large horse, standing over 17 hands (68 inches, 173 cm) high. Throughout most of his racing career, Mucho Macho Man was primarily owned by Dean and Patti Reeves of Reeves Thoroughbred Racing of Suwanee, Georgia. They purchased a majority interest in him after his first race in 2010, and in 2012 became his sole owners. In February 2014, Frank Stronach purchased an undisclosed share in the horse on behalf of his Adena Springs Farms, owner of Mucho Macho Man's sire, Macho Uno.

    When Dean and Patti Reeves purchased the horse, they placed him with horse trainer Tim Ritvo, who shortly thereafter began a job with Gulfstream Park. Training duties were turned over to Tim's wife and fellow trainer Kathy Ritvo, who trained Mucho Macho Man from his fourth race on. His racing career was supported by a close-knit team, led by Ritvo and the Reeves as well as Reeves' racing manager Finn Green. Mucho Macho Man was ridden in races by several top jockeys, including Rajiv Maragh, Ramon Dominguez, Mike Smith, Edgar Prado and Gary Stevens. (Full article...)
  • Suzuka circuit map (1987-2002).svg

    The 1995 Japanese Grand Prix (formally the XXI Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at the Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka on 29 October 1995. It was the sixteenth and penultimate race of the 1995 Formula One World Championship. Michael Schumacher, driving a Benetton-Renault won the 53-lap race from pole position, with Mika Häkkinen second in a McLaren-Mercedes and Schumacher's teammate Johnny Herbert third.

    Jean Alesi, driving for Ferrari, started second, alongside Schumacher. However, Alesi was forced to serve a 10-second stop-and-go penalty because his car moved forward before the start. Alesi climbed back up to second, before retiring on lap 25. Schumacher's rival in the Drivers' Championship, Damon Hill, started fourth amidst pressure from the British media after poor performances at previous races. Hill moved up to second because of Alesi's retirement, but spun off the track on lap 40. (Full article...)
  • A silver trophy with red ribbons on it, set against a green background

    Liverpool Football Club is a professional association football club in Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) competitions. Since 1964, they have won fourteen European and Worldwide trophies, more than any other British club. These consist of the UEFA Champions League (formerly known as the European Cup) six times, the UEFA Europa League (formerly the UEFA Cup) three times, the UEFA Super Cup four times, and the FIFA Club World Cup once.

    Qualification for European competitions is determined by a team's success in its domestic league and cup competitions from the previous season. Liverpool competed in European competitions for 21 consecutive seasons until the 1985 European Cup Final, the occasion of the Heysel Stadium disaster, following which the club was banned from European competitions for six seasons. Since being readmitted in 1991, they have qualified for the UEFA Champions League (the successor to the European Cup) thirteen times, the UEFA Europa League (the successor to the UEFA Cup) twelve times, and the (now-defunct) UEFA Cup Winners Cup twice. (Full article...)
  • "Billie" the white horse,
    the defining image of the day

    The 1923 FA Cup Final was an association football match between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United on 28 April 1923 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known as the FA Cup), it was the first football match to be played at Wembley Stadium. King George V was in attendance to present the trophy to the winning team.

    Each team had progressed through five rounds to reach the final. Bolton Wanderers won 1–0 in every round from the third onwards, and David Jack scored the lone goal each time. West Ham United faced opposition from the Second Division or lower in each round, the first time this had occurred since the introduction of multiple divisions in the Football League. West Ham took three attempts to defeat Southampton in the fourth round but then easily defeated Derby County in the semi-final, scoring five goals. (Full article...)
  • Ian Lovett O'Brien (born 3 March 1947) is an Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1960s who won the 200 metre breaststroke at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in world record time. He won five Commonwealth Games gold medals and claimed a total of nine individual and six relay titles at the Australian Championships, before retiring at the age of 21 due to financial pressures.

    After showing promise at an early age, O'Brien was sent to Sydney to train under renowned coach Forbes Carlile and his breaststroke assistant Terry Gathercole. He competed in his first national championships in 1962 at the age of 15, winning the 220 yard breaststroke to gain selection for the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, where he won both the 110 and 220 yd (200 m) breaststroke and the 4 × 110 yd medley relay. (Full article...)
  • The attacking player (No. 10) attempts to kick the ball beyond the opposing team's goalkeeper, between the goalposts, and beneath the crossbar to score a goal.

    Association football, more commonly known as simply football or soccer, is a team sport played with a spherical ball between two teams of 11 players. It is played by approximately 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies, making it the world's most popular sport. The game is played on a rectangular field called a pitch with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score more goals than the opposition by moving the ball beyond the goal line into the opposing goal, usually within a time frame of 90 or more minutes.

    Football is played in accordance with a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game. The ball is 68–70 cm (27–28 in) in circumference and known as the football. The two teams compete to get the ball into the other team's goal (between the posts and under the bar), thereby scoring a goal. Players are not allowed to touch the ball with hands or arms while it is in play, except for the goalkeepers within the penalty area. Players may use any other part of their body to strike or pass the ball, and mainly use their feet. The team that scores more goals at the end of the game is the winner; if both teams have scored an equal number of goals, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time or a penalty shootout, depending on the format of the competition. Each team is led by a captain who has only one official responsibility as mandated by the Laws of the Game: to represent their team in the coin toss prior to kick-off or penalty kicks. (Full article...)
More selected articles

Selected pictures

Did you know...

A flèche during the qarter-finals of the Masters à l'épée 2012
More did you know facts

Selected quote

Babe Ruth in 1918
The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.     
— Babe Ruth

Selected athlete

Phelps in 2009
Phelps in 2009
Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is a retired American swimmer and the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 22 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (18, double the second highest record holders), Olympic gold medals in individual events (11), and Olympic medals in individual events for a male (13). In winning eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, Phelps took the record for the most first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. Five of those victories were in individual events, tying the single Games record. In the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four golds and two silver medals, making him the most successful athlete of the Games for the third Olympics in a row.

Phelps is the long course world recordholder in the 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly and 400-meter individual medley as well as the former long course world recordholder in the 200-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley. He has won a total of 71 medals in major international long-course competition, 57 gold, 11 silver, and three bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships.

Phelps's international titles and record-breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award seven times and American Swimmer of the Year Award nine times as well as the FINA Swimmer of the Year Award in 2012. His unprecedented Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award. On April 9, 2009, Phelps was invited to appear before the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate, to be honored for his Olympic accomplishments.

After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. (Full article...)

Selected team

West Virginia Mountaineers football's inaugural 1891 team
West Virginia Mountaineers football's inaugural 1891 team
The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University (also referred to as "WVU" or "West Virginia") in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. West Virginia plays its home games on Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The Mountaineers compete in the Big 12 Conference.

With a 708–463–45 record, West Virginia has the 14th most victories among NCAA FBS programs, as well as the most victories among those programs that never claimed nor won a National Championship. West Virginia was originally classified as a College Division school in the 1937 season, becoming a University Division school from 1939–72. WVU received Division I classification in 1973, becoming a Division I-A program from 1978–2006 and an FBS program from 2006 to the present. The Mountaineers have registered 79 winning seasons in their history, with 35 of those seasons resulting in eight victories or more, 17 seasons resulting in at least nine wins, and eight seasons with ten victories or more. Of those successful campaigns, West Virginia has produced one unbeaten season in its history, going 10–0–1 in 1922, as well as five 11-win seasons (1988, 1993, 2005, 2006, 2007). The Mountaineers have won a total of 15 conference championships in their history, including eight Southern Conference titles and seven Big East Conference titles.

From 2002–2011, the Mountaineer football program yielded its most prolific era to date, producing a 95–33 record. During that span the Mountaineers participated in ten bowl games, finished ranked in at least one of the AP or Coaches Polls on seven occasions, won six Big East Conference titles, and produced three BCS bowl game victories. As of the 2012 season, West Virginia was one of only three FBS programs to have won at least nine games in each of the past seven seasons, and its 95 victories between 2002–2011 rank 8th amongst FBS programs. (Full article...)

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