Portal:Sports
The Sports Portal
Sport is a form of physical activity or game. Often competitive and organized, sports use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills. They also provide enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Many sports exist, with different participant numbers, some are done by a single person with others being done by hundreds. Most sports take place either in teams or competing as individuals. Some sports allow a "tie" or "draw", in which there is no single winner; others provide tie-breaking methods to ensure one winner. A number of contests may be arranged in a tournament format, 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 admitting only sports meeting this definition. Some organisations, such as the Council of Europe, preclude activities without any physical element from classification as sports. However, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. The International Olympic Committee who oversee the Olympic Games recognises both chess and bridge as sports. SportAccord, the international sports federation association, recognises five non-physical sports: bridge, chess, draughts, Go and xiangqi. However, they limit the number of mind games which can be admitted as sports. Sport is usually governed by a set of rules or customs, which serve to ensure fair competition. Winning can be determined by physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first. It can also be determined by judges who are scoring elements of the sporting performance, including objective or subjective measures such as technical performance or artistic impression. (Full article...)
Selected articles
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Theoren Wallace "Theo" Fleury (born June 29, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, author and motivational speaker. Fleury played for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), Tappara of Finland's SM-liiga, and the Belfast Giants of the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League. He was drafted by the Flames in the 8th round, 166th overall, at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, and played over 1,000 games in the NHL between 1989 and 2003.
One of the smallest players of his generation, Fleury played a physical style that often led to altercations. As a junior, he was at the centre of the infamous Punch-up in Piestany, a brawl that resulted in the disqualification of both Canada and the Soviet Union from the 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Once considered unlikely to play in the NHL due to his small size, Fleury scored over 1,000 points in his career, placing him 61st in career NHL scoring and won the Stanley Cup in 1989 with the Flames. During his career Fleury recorded 90+ points four times, and 100+ points twice. He twice represented Canada at the Winter Olympics, winning a gold medal in 2002. Throughout his career, he battled drug and alcohol addictions that ultimately forced him out of the NHL in 2003. He played one season in the British Elite Ice Hockey League in 2005–06, and made two attempts to win the Allan Cup. After an unsuccessful NHL comeback attempt with the Flames, he retired in 2009. (Full article...) -
The 1988–89 FA Cup third-round match between Sutton United and Coventry City was an association football game played at Gander Green Lane in Sutton, on 7 January 1989. Coventry City entered the FA Cup in the third round, as they participated in the Football League First Division, the top tier of English league football. Sutton United of the Conference, the fifth tier of English football, had started their cup run in the 4th Qualifying round, winning three ties to reach this stage of the competition. Coventry, the away team, went into the match as strong favourites, a reflection of the gulf in divisions that separated the two teams.
The match was refereed by Alf Buksh in front of 8,000 spectators. Coventry's Brian Kilcline had the best early chance after he received the ball while unmarked in the penalty area, but his header was straight at Sutton goalkeeper Trevor Roffey. The home side took the lead three minutes before half-time when Mickey Stephens took a corner kick towards the near post which was missed by Coventry goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic and then volleyed into the goal by Tony Rains. Seven minutes into the second half, Coventry were level after Steve Sedgley passed the ball into the Sutton penalty area, allowing David Phillips to shoot past an advancing Roffey to make it 1–1. In the 59th minute, Stephens took a corner kick short to Phil Dawson who struck an outswinging cross which Matthew Hanlan volleyed in to give Sutton the lead once again. Despite numerous late chances for Coventry, the match ended 2–1 and Sutton United progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup. (Full article...) -
The 2007 Dr. Pepper ACC Championship Game featured the Boston College Eagles and the Virginia Tech Hokies in a regular-season college football game that determined the conference's champion for the 2007 season. Virginia Tech defeated Boston College 30–16 to win the ACC football championship. The game, held at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, was a rematch of a regular-season game that took place on October 25, in Blacksburg, Virginia. In that game, Boston College, courtesy of a late-game comeback by quarterback Matt Ryan, won 14–10.
Following the loss, Virginia Tech won five straight games to win the Coastal Division of the ACC, while Boston College stumbled, losing two games before defeating the Clemson Tigers to win the Atlantic Division and representation in the Championship Game. Most pre-game media coverage of the event cast the game as an opportunity for Virginia Tech to avenge its earlier loss. In addition, the winner of the game would be awarded an automatic bid to the Bowl Championship Series 2008 Orange Bowl game in Miami, Florida on January 3, 2008. Despite Boston College's earlier win over Virginia Tech, spread bettors favored Virginia Tech by five points. (Full article...) -
Cardiff City Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as Riverside A.F.C., the club changed its name to Cardiff City in 1908 and entered the Southern Football League in 1910 before joining the English Football League in 1920. The team has spent 17 seasons in the top tier of English football, the longest period being between 1921 and 1929. Their most recent season in the top flight was the 2018–19 Premier League season.
Cardiff is the only team from outside England to have won the FA Cup, doing so in 1927. They have also reached three other cup finals in English competitions, the 1925 FA Cup final against Sheffield United, the 2008 FA Cup final against Portsmouth and the 2012 Football League Cup final against Liverpool, suffering defeat on each occasion. They have won the Welsh Cup on 22 occasions, making them the second-most successful team in the competition's history behind Wrexham. (Full article...) -
Louis Jean Joseph Leblanc (born January 26, 1991) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre. Leblanc played minor hockey in the Montreal region before he moved to the United States in 2008, playing one season with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) and becoming Rookie of the Year. Eligible for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, he was selected 18th overall by the Montreal Canadiens. He then enrolled at Harvard University and spent one season with the Crimson, being named Ivy League rookie of the year, before he signed a contract with the Canadiens in 2010. Later that year Leblanc joined the Montreal Juniors, who had earlier acquired his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) playing rights.
Leblanc spent three seasons with the Canadiens, mainly playing for their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, before being traded in 2014 to the Anaheim Ducks, who kept him in the AHL. In 2015, Leblanc moved to Europe, joining HC Slovan Bratislava of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), though he played only seven games for them before being released. After appearing in four games for Lausanne HC of the Swiss National League A, he retired from hockey. Internationally, Leblanc played in the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, where Canada won the gold medal, and in the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he helped Canada win a silver medal. Leblanc was considered a draft bust, having failed to reach his potential and retiring from hockey at an early age. (Full article...) -
The 1981 World Snooker Championship (officially the 1981 Embassy World Snooker Championship) was a ranking professional snooker tournament which took place from 7 April to 20 April 1981 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The tournament was the 1981 edition of the World Snooker Championship, and was the fifth consecutive world championship to take place at the Crucible Theatre since 1977. It was sanctioned by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The total prize fund for the tournament was £75,000, of which £20,000 went to the winner.
Qualifying rounds for the tournament took place from 23 March to 4 April 1981 at two locations — Redwood Lodge Country Club, near Bristol, and at Romiley Forum, near Stockport. The main stage of the tournament featured 24 players: the top 16 players from the snooker world rankings and another eight players from the qualifying rounds. Jimmy White, Tony Knowles and Dave Martin were debutants at the main stage. The defending champion and top seed in the tournament was Cliff Thorburn, who had defeated Alex Higgins 18–16 in the 1980 final. (Full article...) -
California Chrome (foaled February 18, 2011) is a US Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2014 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and 2016 Dubai World Cup. He was the 2014 and 2016 American Horse of the Year. In 2016, he surpassed Curlin as the all-time leading North American horse in earnings won.
Bred in California, the chestnut-colored horse was named for his flashy white markings, called "chrome" by horse aficionados. He was bred and originally owned by Perry Martin from Yuba City, California, and Steve Coburn of Topaz Lake, Nevada, who named their partnership DAP Racing, standing for "Dumb Ass Partners"—a tongue-in-cheek response to a passerby who questioned their wisdom in purchasing California Chrome's dam, Love the Chase. In 2015, Coburn sold his minority share to Taylor Made Farm, and a new ownership group, California Chrome, LLC, was formed. The horse is trained by the father–son team of Art and Alan Sherman. Dedicated fans—called "Chromies"—actively supported California Chrome, who has been called "the people's horse". (Full article...) -
The Walden–Wallkill Rail Trail, also known as the Jesse McHugh Rail Trail, is a 3.22-mile (5.18 km) rail trail between the village of Walden, New York and the neighboring hamlet of Wallkill. The two communities are located in Orange and Ulster counties, respectively, in upstate New York.
The trail, like the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail to the north, is part of the former Wallkill Valley Railroad's rail corridor. The land was purchased by the towns of Montgomery and Shawangunk in 1985 and converted to a public trail. The portion of the trail in Shawangunk was formally opened in 1993 and named after former town supervisor Jesse McHugh. Plans to pave the trail between Walden and Wallkill were discussed since 2001, and the route was finally paved between 2008 and 2009. The trail includes an unofficial, unimproved section to the north of Wallkill, and is bounded by NY 52 and NY 208. (Full article...) -
Ian William Geddes Johnson, CBE (8 December 1917 – 9 October 1998) was an Australian cricketer who played 45 Test matches as a slow off-break bowler between 1946 and 1956. Johnson captured 109 Test wickets at an average of 29.19 runs per wicket and as a capable lower order batsman made 1,000 runs at an average of 18.51 runs per dismissal. He captained the Australian team in 17 Tests, winning seven and losing five, with a further five drawn. Despite this record, he is better known as the captain who lost consecutive Ashes series against England. Urbane, well-spoken and popular with his opponents and the public, he was seen by his teammates as a disciplinarian and his natural optimism was often seen as naive.
Aged 17, Johnson made his first-class cricket debut for Victoria in the 1935–36 season but did not establish a permanent place in the team until 1939–40. His career was interrupted by the Second World War; he served with the Royal Australian Air Force as a pilot and later as a flight instructor. He returned to cricket after his discharge and was selected to tour New Zealand with the Australian team, making his Test debut. Johnson was part of Don Bradman's Invincibles team; undefeated on tour in England in 1948. He was a regular member of the national side until poor form saw him left out of the Australian squad for the 1953 tour of England. (Full article...) -
John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890s Baltimore Orioles teams, noted for their innovative, aggressive play.
McGraw was born into poverty in Truxton, New York. He found an escape from his hometown and a bad family situation through baseball, beginning a quick rise through the minor leagues that led him to the Orioles at the age of 18. Under the tutelage of manager Ned Hanlon, the Orioles of the 1890s won three National League (NL) pennants; McGraw was one of the stalwarts of the team alongside Wee Willie Keeler, Hughie Jennings, and Wilbert Robinson. The Orioles perfected the hit and run play and popularized the Baltimore chop; they also sought to win by intimidating the opposing team and the umpire. (Full article...) -
Duncan Edwards (1 October 1936 – 21 February 1958) was an English footballer who played as a left-half for Manchester United and the England national team. He was one of the Busby Babes, the young United team formed under manager Matt Busby in the mid-1950s, playing 177 matches for the club. He was noted for his physical strength, toughness, and level of authority on the pitch, and has been ranked amongst the toughest players of all time. One of eight players who died as a result of the Munich air disaster, he survived initially but succumbed to his injuries in hospital two weeks later. Many of his contemporaries have described him as one of the best, if not the best, players with whom they had played.
Born in Woodside, Dudley, Edwards signed for Manchester United as a teenager and went on to become the youngest player to play in the Football League First Division and at the time the youngest England player since the Second World War, going on to play 18 times for his country at top level. In a professional career of less than five years he helped United to win two Football League championships and two FA Charity Shields, and reach the semi-finals of the European Cup. (Full article...) -
The 2019 Tour Championship (officially the 2019 Coral Tour Championship) was a professional snooker ranking tournament that took place from 19 to 24 March 2019 at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales. Organised by World Snooker, it was the first edition of the Tour Championship and the third and final event of the inaugural Coral Cup. It was the eighteenth ranking event of the 2018–19 snooker season.
The draw for the Tour Championship comprised the top eight players based on the single year ranking list, taking part in a single elimination tournament. Each match was played over a minimum of two sessions, the final as best-of-25-frames over two days. The winner of the tournament won £150,000 out of a total prize fund of £375,000. The event was sponsored by betting company Coral. (Full article...) -
Attalus I (Ancient Greek: Ἄτταλος 'Attalos'), surnamed Soter (Greek: Σωτήρ, 'Savior'; 269–197 BC), was the ruler of the Ionian Greek polis of Pergamon (modern-day Bergama, Turkey) and the larger Pergamene Kingdom from 241 BC to 197 BC. He was the adopted son of King Eumenes I, whom he succeeded, and was the first of the Attalid dynasty to assume the title of king, sometime around 240 to 235 BC. He was the son of Attalus and his wife Antiochis.
Attalus won an important victory, the Battle of the Caecus River, over the Galatians, a group of migratory Celtic tribes from Thrace, who had been plundering and exacting tribute throughout most of Asia Minor for more than a generation. The victory was celebrated with a triumphal monument at Pergamon (The Dying Gaul) and Attalus taking the surname "Soter" and the title of king. He participated in the first and second Macedonian Wars against Philip V of Macedon as a loyal ally of the Roman Republic, although Pergamene participation was ultimately rather minor in these wars. He conducted numerous naval operations throughout the Aegean, gained the island of Aegina for Pergamon during the first war and Andros during the second, twice narrowly escaping capture at the hands of Philip V. During his reign, Pergamon also repeatedly struggled with the neighboring Seleucid Empire to the east, resulting in both successes and setbacks. (Full article...) -
The Cardiff City Stadium, Wales's current venue for home matches
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international association football. The team played their first match in March 1876 against Scotland before hosting their first home match the following year against the same opponent. The location selected for the fixture was the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham, the world's oldest international football ground still in use. The ground hosted all of Wales's matches until 1890, when a game was played against Ireland in the English border town of Shrewsbury. Wales played matches in several parts of the country, including Bangor, Cardiff, and Swansea over the following two decades.
The advent of professionalism in Welsh club sides saw the construction of several purpose-built football grounds. Two, Ninian Park in Cardiff, which hosted its first international in 1911, and Vetch Field in Swansea, which hosted its first in 1921, shared Wales's home matches with the Racecourse for nearly a century. Although one match was moved to Anfield in Liverpool in 1977 as a result of crowd trouble, no other venue would host a Wales home international fixture between 1910 and 1989 (when the team began playing at the National Stadium in Cardiff). Construction of the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was completed in 2000, and it was immediately named as the side's new home ground. Although attendance was initially high at the Millennium, a gradual drop saw the team play matches in several newly built grounds (including the Cardiff City Stadium and the Liberty Stadium). The former was popular, and was credited as a factor in the team's improvement; it was subsequently designated Wales's permanent home venue. (Full article...) -
Bradford City's 1911 FA Cup winning side
Bradford City Association Football Club—also known informally as Bradford City—is an English football club founded in Bradford in 1903 to introduce the sport to the West Riding of Yorkshire, which until then had been almost entirely inclined towards rugby league. Before they had even played their first game, City were elected to the Football League to replace Doncaster Rovers in Division Two, and took over the Valley Parade stadium, which has been their permanent home ground ever since. The club won the Division Two title in 1908 and the FA Cup in 1911, both under the management of Peter O'Rourke, before they were relegated from Division One in 1921–22.
City were relegated again five seasons later, but when O'Rourke was reappointed as manager before the 1928–29 season, they broke several club records to earn promotion back to Division Two. After eight seasons in Division Two, City returned to Division Three, and they remained in the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system until 1985–86. During that time, they endured several periods of financial hardship, and in 1985, their ground suffered a disastrous fire in which 56 people died, on a day the club and their fans were supposed to be celebrating promotion. (Full article...)
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Selected pictures
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Photo: Keith AllisonPanamanian baseball pitcher Mariano Rivera has spent his entire 16-year Major League Baseball career with the New York Yankees. An 11-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, Rivera has accumulated 559 saves, the second-most in MLB history, and he holds Major League postseason records for saves and earned run average, among other records. -
Joe Oakley (right), being penalised by the official (centre) for "dabbing" his foot on the ground during a mountain bike trials competition. Trials riding is a mountain biking discipline in which the rider attempts to pass through an obstacle course without setting foot to ground. Originating in Catalonia, it is popular within Europe and has a small following worldwide. -
Photo credit: Nick WiebeCongo national football team goalkeeper Destin Onka (right) prevents Austrian forward Rubin Okotie (left) from scoring a goal at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In association football, the goalkeeper is the only player who is permitted to touch the ball with his hands or arms in open play. -
Motocross is form of motorcycle or ATV racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The tracks are often quite large, natural, terrains with very few man made jumps, unlike Supercross, a sport that was originally derived from Motocross and is executed on a smaller track with many more extreme man made obstacles. -
Picture: Krm500Fredrik Pettersson (born 1987) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player, pictured while with Frölunda HC and now playing for HC Donbass in the Kontinental Hockey League. A right winger, Pettersson's international record includes a gold at the 2013 IIHF World Championship and bronze in 2010. -
Photograph: Marie-Lan NguyenNikolay Kovalev (R) attacks Áron Szilágyi (L) in the semi-finals of the men's sabre event at the 2013 World Fencing Championships. Although Kovalev won, he lost in the final against Veniamin Reshetnikov.
Held in Budapest, Hungary, from 5 to 12 August, the 2013 Championships saw 827 fencers from 101 countries compete. Russia won the most medals (11), followed by Italy (6) and Ukraine (4). -
Photo credit: Christopher BattJuuso Pykälistö, driving a Peugeot 206 WRC at the 2003 Swedish Rally, lands a high-speed "yump" on two wheels in the snow. This rally competition is part of the World Rally Championship and was the first rally to be held on snow. -
Boxing is a sport where two participants of similar weight attack each other with their fists in a series of one to three-minute intervals called "rounds". Modern boxing began in 1867 with the Marquess of Queensberry rules. Currently, there are two distinct branches of boxing: Professional and Olympic, which have different rules, but are similar in execution. -
Credit: Ralf RoletschekMartin Sesaker representing Norway in curling at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics. -
Iris Pruysen, an athlete with an artificial leg, competes in the long jump at the 2014 Athletics Paralympic Meeting in Stade Sébastien Charléty, Paris, France.
Disabled sports, also known as parasports, are sports played by persons with a permanent or temporary disability, be it physical or intellectual. Many disabled sports are based on existing able bodied sports, modified to meet the needs of persons with a disability. However, several sports have been specifically created for persons with a disability. -
Credit: Fir0002Horses race on grass at the 2006 Tambo Valley Races in Swifts Creek, Victoria, Australia. Horseracing is the third most popular spectator sport in Australia, behind Australian rules football and rugby league, with almost 2 million admissions to the 379 racecourses throughout Australia in 2002–03. -
Credit: Fernando FrazãoThe balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus, as well as the event performed using the apparatus. Pictured is Daniele Hypólito in the final of the women's artistic gymnastics competition at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where Brazil finished in 8th place. -
Photo: John O'NeillRobbie McEwen, Australian professional road cyclist, wearing his Team Katusha (Russian: Катюша) cycling kit at the start of the 2010 Jayco Bay Cycling Classic. McEwen's accolades include winning the maillot vert (green jersey) overall Points Classification in the Tour de France three times, along with winning 12 individual stages, and competing in three Olympic Games. The green and gold bands around his arms identify him as an Australian National Cycling Champion. -
Photograph: Ira Rosenberg; restoration: Chris WoodrichMuhammad Ali (1942-2016) was an American former professional boxer, generally considered among the greatest heavyweights in the history of the sport. A controversial and polarizing figure during his early career, Ali is now highly regarded for the skills he displayed in the ring plus the values he exemplified outside of it: religious freedom, racial justice and the triumph of principle over expedience. Ali remains the only three-time lineal world heavyweight champion, having won the title in 1964, 1974, and 1978. -
Photograph credit: Carlos DelgadoRichèl Hogenkamp (born 16 April 1992) is a professional tennis player from the Netherlands. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 94, which she reached on 24 July 2017. On the ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, she has won 16 singles and 14 doubles titles. This photograph depicts Hogenkamp competing at the 2015 Madrid Open. -
Photograph: D. Bernard & Co; restoration: Adam CuerdenEugen Sandow (1867–1925) was a pioneering German bodybuilder. Born in Königsberg, Prussia, he joined a circus to avoid military service. Fellow strongman Ludwig Durlacher urged Sandow to travel to London and take part in a strongman competition, which he handily won. Sandow rose rapidly to fame and was soon touring Europe and the United States, being featured in a short film series that depicted him flexing. After a bout of ill health, Sandow focused on opening public gyms, inventing or improving exercise equipment, and training would-be military recruits as well as King George V. Sandow is now known as the "father of modern bodybuilding". -
Photograph credit: Ailura; edited by Chris WoodrichElena Runggaldier (born 10 July 1990) is an Italian ski jumper and Nordic-combined skier. She won a silver medal at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011, and has taken part in four FIS Ski Jumping World Cups and represented Italy in ski jumping in two Winter Olympic Games. This photograph shows Runggaldier in Hinzenbach, Austria, where she competed in the 2014–15 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup. -
Credit: ChePriit Narusk in the qualification for the Tour de Ski cross-country skiing competition in Prague. -
Restoration: Lise BroerA late 1930s Federal Art Project poster advertising the bobsled track in Lake Placid, New York, United States, which had been used in the 1932 Winter Olympics. The village is located in the Adirondack Mountains and is known as a tourist destination for winter sports, mountain climbing, and golf. It is one of the three places to have twice hosted the Winter Olympic Games and the first location in North America to host two Olympic games. -
Credit: PierreSelim -
Credit: KuebiMara Friton in a handball match in the German Handball-Bundesliga. -
Photo credit: Fir0002Two racers cross the finish line of the 250cc class at the 2007 Swifts Creek lawn mower races. In this motorsport, competitors race modified lawn mowers, usually of the ride-on or self-propelled variety. Original mower engines are retained but blades are removed for safety. Lawn mowers have also been used in kart racing, a different sport. -
Photograph: John Sherwell, Australian Paralympic CommitteeMaddison Elliott (b. 1998) is an Australian swimmer. She is S8 classified, having right side cerebral palsy as a result of a neonatal stroke. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, she became the youngest Australian Paralympic medallist by winning bronze medals in the women's 400 m and 100 m freestyle S8 events. She then became the youngest Australian gold medallist when she was a member of the women's 4×100 m freestyle relay 34 points team.
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Did you know...
- ...that tug of war (pictured) was included in the Olympic Games from 1900 until 1920?
- ...that even though Denis Potvin retired in 1988, fans of the New York Rangers still practice a tradition aimed at insulting him?
- ...that Bridgett Riley lost her contact lenses in the fifth round of a boxing match against Theresa Arnold on September 19, 1996, leading to her first ever defeat?
- ...that Marn Grook is the name of ball game played by Australian Aborginals which is thought to be the basis for the modern game of Australian rules football?
- ...that the earliest record of Gaelic handball is the 1527 town statutes of Galway, Ireland, which forbade the playing of ball games against the walls?
Selected quote
Selected athlete
Damon Hill in 2012
Hill became a test driver for the Formula One title-winning Williams team in 1992. He was promoted to the Williams race team the following year after Riccardo Patrese's departure and took the first of his 22 victories at the 1993 Hungarian Grand Prix.
During the mid 1990s, Hill was Michael Schumacher's main rival for the Formula One Drivers' Championship. The two clashed on and off the track. Their collision at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix gave Schumacher his first title by a single point. Hill became champion in 1996 with eight wins, but was dropped by Williams for the following season. He went on to drive for the less competitive Arrows and Jordan teams, and in 1998 gave Jordan its first win. He retired from racing after the 1999 season.
In 2006, Hill became president of the British Racing Drivers' Club, succeeding Jackie Stewart. Hill stepped down from the position in 2011 and was succeeded by Derek Warwick. Hill has also regularly appeared in the British media, writing articles for F1 Racing magazine and working as a pundit for Sky Sports F1. (Full article...)
Selected team
West Virginia Mountaineers football's inaugural 1891 team
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...)
In this month
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- May 8, 1954 – The Asian Football Confederation, the governing body of association football in Asia, is founded
- May 15, 1908 – The International Ice Hockey Federation is founded in Paris as Ligue International de Hockey sur Glace
- May 17, 1875 – The first Kentucky Derby is held, with Aristides winning the race
- May 22, 1987 – The inaugural Rugby World Cup (2011 match pictured), co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia, begins
- May 23, 1985 – The first Games of the Small States of Europe, a multi-sport event for European microstates, begins in San Marino
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