Katlen asks: Is it true that footballs used to be made of pigskin? What are they made of now? These days, footballs are typically made from cowhide or vulcanized rubber, making their nickname “pigskins” somewhat ironic. Football fans often perpetuate the idea that footballs used to be made of pigskin, which is how they got their nickname, but it turns […]
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John K. asks: I heard that the NFL is tax-exempt. Why is this when they make billions every year? The NFL made over thirteen billion dollars this past year in gross revenue. That is over three billion dollars more than Major League Baseball, the next most profitable professional sports league. The Buffalo Bills, the NFL’s current least valuable team, is […]
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Justina asks: Why don’t figure skaters get dizzy after they spin? To understand why, it’s important to know why people get dizzy in the first place. Dizziness is controlled by the vestibular system in your upper inner ear. Within the vestibular system, there are three canals that contain fluid called endolymph, as well as sensory nerve cells that look sort […]
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Indefinably fearless and nearly unstoppable—this doesn’t come close to adequately describing the boxing phenomenon Harry Greb. “The Pittsburgh Windmill” as he’s known among his most devout circle of fans, was born in June of 1894. Boxing historian Eric Jorgensen had this to say about Greb: Greb may have been the greatest fighter, pound-for-pound, who ever lived. Certainly, he was among […]
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The buzzer sounds. The teammates’ hands link and raise up in victory. The heads of the other team dip in defeat. The orange basketball is flung up in celebration. Young student-athletes dance around, releasing a year’s worth of pent up stress due to basketball and (in theory) school-work. Another men’s basketball NCAA championship has been won. The winning team gathers, […]
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On a cold, late November Wednesday in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a crowd of 7,021 arrived to the Minneapolis Auditorium to watch an NBA game between the Fort Wayne Pistons and the Minneapolis Lakers. This was a new experience for many of the fans in the stands. The NBA had formed due to a merger between rival leagues, the Basketball Association of […]
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A former teammate of Babe Ruth’s once recalled the Bambino by saying, “You’ve got to remember, this guy wasn’t born. He fell out of a tree.” Ruth grabbed life by the throat (or maybe it was another part of life’s anatomy) and shook it up… frequently. Ruth spent a good portion of his youth cooped up in St. Mary’s industrial […]
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As Francis Scott Key sat aboard a ship, now officially a prisoner of war, he could only watch as the British bombarded American forces at Fort McHenry. He had been sent to the British ship HMS Tonnant, along with John Stuart Skinner, by President James Madison himself to negotiate the release of prisoners of war. After dining with British officers, […]
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When people make lists of the greatest athletes of the 20th century, they are populated with the usual suspects: Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, Wayne Gretzky, Jim Brown, Pele… but there is one name that should always make the list even though many people, even the biggest sports fans, may not recognize it, or if they do, […]
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Beloved by Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kyrgz, Kazakhs, Pashtuns and Turkmens as well as Afghans, the equestrian sport known as Kokpar or Buzkashi is a rugged, and traditionally extremely violent, game similar to polo with one surprising twist; rather than hitting a ball with mallets toward a goal, players vie for control of a headless animal carcass. While at first glance this […]
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With the 2013 All Star game just around the corner, we thought it might be a good time to read-up on the history of today’s National League team names and a few interesting facts about each franchise. (for the American League team names, click here) NL East Atlanta Braves (54-41) 2013 All-Stars: Craig Kimbrel (RHP), Freddie Freeman (1B) Origins: Founded […]
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Two of the only days in the year where no major professional sport is played in the United States (MLB/NBA/NFL/NHL/MLS) are occurring now: the day before and the day after the MLB All-Star Game. So since you’ll have nothing else to do to get your sports fix, why not learn a little bit about where your favorite team got its […]
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Guest post by Gary Cieradkowski. Read more of his awesome articles at The Infinite Baseball Card Set. One of the many things I love about baseball is how many people that you know of, for an entirely different reason, happen to also have been ball players. President George Bush played in the first two College World Series’ and kept a […]
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Nothing short of a room decorated in team gear epitomizes a National Football League fanatic better than an internal database of useless trivia spanning your team’s history. Read on for the origin of the nickname of your favorite NFC team. NFC East Dallas Cowboys (431-287-2) Super Bowl: (5-3) Noteworthy: With the 1st and 9th all-time rushing leaders in Emmitt Smith […]
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With the 2013 NFL season set to begin in just over three months, it’s time to start collecting trivial facts to help spice up the trash talk in your fantasy football league. Read on for the origin of the nickname of your favorite AFC team. AFC East Buffalo Bills (323-393-4) Super Bowl: (0-4) Noteworthy: Alums include O.J. Simpson, Jim Kelly […]
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Despite spending the last decade or so of his career often injured, Ken Griffey Jr. was a 13-time All-Star, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, a 7-time Silver Slugger award winner, 1997 MVP, 6th all-time in career home runs with 630, and he accumulated nearly 80 WAR (more on “WAR” in the Bonus Facts below). Any number you look at, it’s […]
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“They can’t say that a gay man can’t play in the Majors, because I’m a gay man and I made it.”- Glenn Burke Major League Baseball has been going strong now for well over a century. Many thousands of players have taken the field since the beginning of organized professional baseball, but only one, Glenn Burke, ever “came out of […]
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Not even 10,000 fans were in the stands in San Diego on June 12th, 1970 for that evening’s doubleheader between the San Diego Padres and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Dock Ellis, the Pirates’ starting pitcher for the first game, was in the bullpen warming up. Something was off with Dock that night. He had only arrived to the stadium at 4:30 […]
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