Portal:Sports
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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
- Image 1
Thierry Daniel Henry (French pronunciation: [tjɛʁi danjɛl ɑ̃ʁi]; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is currently the manager of the France national under-21 and under-23 football teams. He is considered one of the greatest strikers of all time, and one of the greatest players in Premier League history. He has been named by Arsenal as the club's greatest ever player. Henry was runner-up for both the Ballon d'Or in 2003 and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004. He was named the FWA Footballer of the Year a record three times, the PFA Players' Player of the Year a joint-record two 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. In 2004, Henry was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
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 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 Invincible season. Henry spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. Henry transferred to Barcelona in 2007 and in the 2008–09 season, he 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 Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York Red Bulls and returned to Arsenal on loan for two months in 2012, before retiring in 2014. (Full article...) - Image 2
Blackburn Olympic Football Club was an English football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire in the late 19th century. Although the club was only in existence for just over a decade, it is significant in the history of football in England as the first club from the north of the country and the first from a working-class background to win the country's leading competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup). The cup had previously been won only by teams of wealthy amateurs from the Home counties, and Olympic's victory marked a turning point in the sport's transition from a pastime for upper-class gentlemen to a professional sport.
The club was formed in 1878 and initially took part only in minor local competitions. In 1880, the club entered the FA Cup for the first time, and three years later defeated Old Etonians at Kennington Oval to win the trophy. Olympic, however, proved unable to compete with wealthier and better-supported clubs in the new professional era, and folded in 1889. (Full article...) - Image 3
Stoke City Football Club has its origins in Stoke Ramblers, a team formed by former pupils of the Charterhouse School whilst they were apprentices at the North Staffordshire Railway. The club dropped the Ramblers from their name, becoming Stoke Football Club and in 1888 they were founding members of the Football League. In 1925, the club's name was changed for the final time to Stoke City Football Club when Stoke-on-Trent was granted city status.
The club moved in 1997 to the Britannia Stadium, a 28,383 all-seater stadium; having spent 119 years at the Victoria Ground. In the 2007–08 season, Stoke won promotion from the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football, and as of 2008–09 are playing in the top flight (currently Premier League) for the first time since the 1984–85 season, when they were relegated with a total of 17 points, a record low unsurpassed for 21 years. Stoke's only major trophy was the 1972 Football League Cup, won when they beat Chelsea 2–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium before a crowd of 97,852. The club have also won the Football League Trophy twice, in 1992 and 2000. In terms of league achievement the closest Stoke have come to winning the title was in the 1946–47 season where a final day defeat cost Stoke top spot. (Full article...) - Image 4The 2006 Bank of America 500 was the 31st stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the fifth in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 14, 2006, before a crowd of 175,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The circuit is an intermediate that holds NASCAR races. The 334-lap race was won by Kasey Kahne of the Evernham Motorsports team, who started from second position. Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson finished second and Richard Childress Racing driver Jeff Burton was third.
Burton led the Drivers' Championship by six points over Matt Kenseth going into the race. Although Scott Riggs won the pole position by setting the fastest lap time in the qualifying session, he was immediately passed by teammate Kahne at the start of the race. Riggs regained first place twelve laps later, only to lose it to Tony Raines on the 19th lap. Riggs retook the lead on lap 31 and maintained it for the following 16 laps until he was passed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. who led for the next 31 laps. Kahne moved back into the first position on lap 96, with Raines reclaiming the lead on the 123rd lap. Kahne passed Raines to move back into the lead 15 laps later. Johnson moved into the lead on lap 168 and held the position for a total of 72 laps. At the race's final restart on lap 307, Johnson led until he was passed two laps later by Kahne who maintained it to win the race. There were ten cautions and 34 lead changes by thirteen different drivers. (Full article...) - Image 5
Tyler Wayne Skaggs (July 13, 1991 – July 1, 2019) was an American left-handed professional baseball starting pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels from 2012 until his death in 2019.
A native of Woodland Hills, California, and a graduate of Santa Monica High School, Skaggs was a supplemental first-round selection for the Angels in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. He was traded to the Diamondbacks the following year as part of an exchange for pitcher Dan Haren and rose through Arizona's farm system. After two consecutive appearances at the All-Star Futures Game in 2011 and 2012, Skaggs made his major league debut on August 22, 2012, against the Miami Marlins. He remained with the Diamondbacks through the end of the season, but was optioned to the minor leagues in 2013. (Full article...) - Image 6
Trevor John Linden CM OBC (born April 11, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former president of hockey operations and alternate governor of the Vancouver Canucks. He spent 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing centre and right wing with four teams: the Vancouver Canucks (in two tenures; the first and last), New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals. Before joining the NHL in 1988, Linden helped the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL) win consecutive Memorial Cup championships. In addition to appearing in two NHL All-Star Games, Linden was a member of the 1998 Canadian Olympic team and participated in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
Throughout his career, Linden was recognized as a respected leader on and off the ice. He was named captain of the Canucks at age 21, making him one of the youngest captains in league history. In that capacity, Linden was nicknamed "Captain Canuck" and led the team to back-to-back Smythe Division titles in 1992 and 1993, followed by a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1994, where they lost in seven games. In 1998, he was elected president of the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), a position he held for eight years. As President, he played an instrumental role in the 2004–05 NHL lockout, including negotiations with league owners. Off the ice, Linden has taken an active role in charities, and was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership on the ice and humanitarian contributions off the ice in 1997, as well as the NHL Foundation Player Award in 2008. Linden retired on June 11, 2008, 20 years to the day after he was drafted into the NHL. Linden's jersey number 16 was retired by the Canucks on December 17, 2008, the second number retired by the team. (Full article...) - Image 7Stamata Revithi (Greek: Σταμάτα Ρεβίθη; 1866 – after 1896) was a Greek woman who ran the 40-kilometre marathon during the 1896 Summer Olympics. The Games excluded women from competition, but Revithi insisted that she be allowed to run. Revithi ran one day after the men had completed the official race, and although she finished the marathon in approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes and found witnesses to sign their names and verify the running time, she was not allowed to enter the Panathinaiko Stadium at the end of the race. She intended to present her documentation to the Hellenic Olympic Committee in the hopes that they would recognize her achievement, but it is not known whether she did so. No known record survives of Revithi's life after her run.
According to contemporary sources, a second woman, "Melpomene", also ran the 1896 marathon race. There is debate among Olympic historians as to whether or not Revithi and Melpomene are the same person. (Full article...) - Image 8During the 1995–96 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system. It was the 64th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 46th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. After being in severe financial difficulties for several months, Gillingham had been saved from going out of business during the summer of 1995 by new chairman Paul Scally, who purchased the club for a nominal fee and appointed Tony Pulis as the team's new manager. Having signed many new players, Gillingham began the season strongly with four consecutive wins and remained in the top three positions in the Third Division for the entire season, finishing in second place. The club thus gained promotion to the Second Division seven years after being relegated from the third tier.
Gillingham reached the third round of the FA Cup, but were eliminated at the earliest stage of both the Football League Cup and the Football League Trophy. The team played a total of 54 competitive matches, winning 24, drawing 20, and losing 10. The team's top goalscorer was Leo Fortune-West, who scored 12 goals in the Third Division and 15 across all competitions. Goalkeeper Jim Stannard played the most games for Gillingham, being absent for only one of the team's 54 matches; he played in all the club's League matches, in which he kept 29 clean sheets and conceded only 20 goals, both new Football League records for a 46-match season. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home ground, Priestfield Stadium, was 10,595, for a game against promotion rivals Preston North End. (Full article...) - Image 9During the 1913–14 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Southern League Division One. It was the 20th season in which the club competed in the Southern League and the 19th in Division One. At the start of the season, the club appointed Sam Gilligan as player-manager. Gillingham's performances during the first half of the season were mixed and at the end of 1913 they were 12th out of 20 teams in the league table. They were undefeated in January and rose to 7th in the table, but then had a winless run of five games, including the team's heaviest defeat of the season. Gillingham won only one of their final seven games of the campaign and finished in 13th position, an improvement of two places on the previous season.
Gillingham also competed in the FA Cup. After victories in two qualifying rounds and the first round proper, they played Liverpool of the Football League First Division in the second round; the attendance of 42,045 was the largest recorded crowd in front of which Gillingham had ever played, home or away. Gillingham held their opponents for over 75 minutes but conceded two late goals and lost the game. The team played 42 competitive matches, winning 16, drawing 9, and losing 17. Charlie Hafekost was the team's top goalscorer, with 10 goals. Tom Leslie and Jack Mahon made the most appearances, both playing in every one of the team's 42 competitive matches. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home ground, Priestfield Road, was 12,000 for a game against Swindon Town, the eventual Southern League champions. (Full article...) - Image 10The 2009 International Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game between the Connecticut Huskies (UConn) and the Buffalo Bulls at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, on January 3, 2009. The game was the final contest of the 2008 NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-FBS) football season for both teams, and ended in a 38–20 victory for Connecticut. UConn represented the Big East Conference (Big East) in the game; Buffalo entered as the Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion.
Connecticut was selected as a participant in the 2009 International Bowl following a 7–5 regular season where they won their first five games, only to lose five of their last seven contests. Facing the Huskies were the Buffalo Bulls with a regular season record of 8–5, highlighted by an upset win over then-No. 12 and undefeated Ball State in the 2008 MAC Championship Game. Pre-game media coverage focused on the legacy of the 1958 Buffalo Bulls, the first team from the university to be invited to a bowl game. When told that the two African-American members of the team would not be allowed to play because of segregation, the team elected to refuse the bowl bid. Buffalo would not play in a bowl until this game, 50 years later. (Full article...) - Image 11
Percy George Herbert Fender (22 August 1892 – 15 June 1985) was an English cricketer who played 13 Tests for his country and was captain of Surrey between 1921 and 1931. An all-rounder, he was a middle-order batsman who bowled mainly leg spin, and completed the cricketer's double seven times. Noted as a belligerent batsman, in 1920 he hit the fastest recorded first-class century, reaching three figures in only 35 minutes, which remains a record as of 2021. On the basis of his Surrey captaincy, contemporaries judged him the best captain in England.
As early as 1914 Fender was named one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year. After war service in the Royal Flying Corps he re-established himself in the Surrey team and became captain in 1921. His captaincy inspired the team to challenge strongly for the County Championship over the course of several seasons, despite a shortage of effective bowlers. Alongside his forceful though sometimes controversial leadership, Fender was an effective performer with bat and ball, although he lacked support as a bowler. From 1921, he played occasionally in Tests for England but was never particularly successful. Despite press promptings, he was never appointed Test captain, and following a clash with the highly influential Lord Harris in 1924, his England career was effectively ended. Further disagreements between Fender and the Surrey committee over his approach and tactics led the county to replace him as captain in 1932 and to end his career in 1935. (Full article...) - Image 12
Thurman Lowell Tucker (September 26, 1917 – May 7, 1993) was an American professional baseball player. A center fielder, Tucker played in Major League Baseball for nine seasons in the American League with the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians. In 701 career games, Tucker recorded a batting average of .255 and accumulated 24 triples, nine home runs, and 179 runs batted in (RBI).
Because of his resemblance to film comedian Joe E. Brown he was nicknamed "Joe E.". (Full article...) - Image 13
The 1987 FA Cup final between Coventry City and Tottenham Hotspur on 16 May 1987 at Wembley Stadium, London, England was the 106th Final of the FA Cup, English football's primary cup competition. It was the third final for Tottenham Hotspur in seven years, the team having won the trophy in 1981 and 1982, while Coventry were making their first appearance. Both clubs were in the Football League First Division that season, giving them entry into the competition in the third round. They each won five games en route to the final, with Coventry beating Leeds United 3–2 and Tottenham beating Watford 4–1 in their respective semi-finals. Both clubs recorded songs to commemorate reaching the final. After a December league match between the two sides had finished 4–3 to Coventry, both Tottenham manager David Pleat and Coventry joint-manager John Sillett anticipated an exciting final.
Neil Midgley refereed the match in front of a crowd of 96,000. Within two minutes of the kick-off, Tottenham took the lead. Chris Waddle played in a cross from the right wing and Clive Allen beat defender Trevor Peake to the ball to head it past Steve Ogrizovic in the Coventry goal. The scores were level seven minutes later: a deep cross from Greg Downs was headed on by Keith Houchen to Dave Bennett who rounded Ray Clemence and struck the ball past Steve Hodge into the corner of the Tottenham goal. Coventry's Cyrille Regis had a goal disallowed and then, five minutes before half-time, Tottenham restored their one-goal lead. A free kick from Hoddle was touched on by Gary Mabbutt and bounced into the far corner of the Coventry goal. Midway through the second half, Coventry were level once again, with Houchen converting a Bennett cross with a diving header, which would later be selected as the BBC Goal of the Season. With the game even at full time, extra time was needed to decide the match. The only goal of extra time was scored in its first period when a cross from Lloyd McGrath looped off Mabbutt's left knee and over Clemence for an own goal, making the final score 3–2 to Coventry. (Full article...) - Image 14The 1981 UEFA Cup Final was an association football match played over two legs between AZ '67 of the Netherlands and Ipswich Town of England. The first leg was played at Portman Road, Ipswich, on 6 May 1981 and the second leg was played on 20 May 1981 at the Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam. It was the final of the 1980–81 season of European cup competition, the UEFA Cup. Both Ipswich and AZ '67 were appearing in their first European final.
Each club needed to progress through five rounds to reach the final. Matches were contested over two legs, with a match at each team's home ground. The majority of Ipswich's ties were won by at least two goals, the exception being the second round against Bohemians of Prague, which Ipswich won 3–2 on aggregate. AZ '67's early ties were one-sided: they won the first three rounds by at least five goals on aggregate, but their quarter-final and semi-final ties were won on aggregate by a single goal. (Full article...) - Image 15
The 2010 PapaJohns.com Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game between the South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Connecticut Huskies (UConn) of the Big East Conference, on January 2, 2010, at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The game was the final contest of the 2009 NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-FBS) football season for both teams, and it ended in a 20–7 victory for Connecticut.
South Carolina had a 7–5 regular-season, highlighted by wins over then-No. 4 Mississippi and then-No. 15 Clemson. The Gamecocks faced Connecticut. The Huskies were selected to play in the 2010 PapaJohns.com Bowl following a tumultuous 7–5 regular season that included five losses by a total of just fifteen points, a double-overtime victory at Notre Dame, and the murder of cornerback Jasper Howard. Pregame coverage focused on the tragedy that marked the Huskies' season, as well as on head coaches Steve Spurrier of South Carolina and Randy Edsall of Connecticut. (Full article...)
Selected pictures
- Image 1Photo: KallernaNasser Al-Attiyah, a Qatari rally driver, in a Ford Fiesta S2000 at the 2010 Rally Finland. He is the only Arab to have won the Dakar Rally, which he did in 2011. In addition to driving, Al-Attiyah is a sport shooter and won a bronze medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics in skeet.
- Image 2Credit: 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.
- Image 3Photo: 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.
- Image 4Motocross 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.
- Image 5Photo: Sport the LibraryJeremy Doyle (1983–2011) was an Australian wheelchair basketball player. Left paraplegic after a car accident, he was classified as a 1 point player. While representing his country Doyle won two gold medals, first at the 2009 Paralympic World Cup and again at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship.
- Image 7Photograph 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.
- Image 8
- Image 10Photograph credit: Rodney EeThe pacu jawi is a traditional bull race in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, Indonesia. In the race, a jockey stands holding on to a pair of loosely tied bulls while the bulls run across a muddy track in a rice field. Recently, it has become a tourist attraction supported by the government, and the subject of multiple award-winning photographs. Dramatic high-speed action, mud splashing, and the jockeys' distinctive facial expressions add to its aesthetic value.
- Image 11Photo: Pavel.ryclTony Estanguet (b. 1978) is a French slalom canoeist who has competed since the mid-1990s. Before announcing his retirement, he competed in four Olympic Games and, with his win at the 2012 London Games, became the first French Olympian to win three gold medals in the same Olympic discipline.
- Image 12Boxing 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.
- Image 13Photo: Marie-Lan NguyenFencing is the sport of fighting with swords; in modern usage the word usually denotes competitive fencing, rather than classical fencing. Here, Fabian Kauter (right) hits Diego Confalonieri (left) with a flèche attack at the final of the Challenge Réseau Ferré de France–Trophée Monal 2012.
- Image 14Photo 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.
- Image 15Photo: Keith AllisonZack Greinke is a pitcher for the Major League Baseball team Milwaukee Brewers. He began his career with the Kansas City Royals (as pictured here), during which time he won the American League Cy Young Award, given to the league's best pitcher. In December 2010, Greinke asked to be traded, saying he was not motivated to play for a rebuilding team.
- Image 16Photo: Bain News Service; Restoration: JujutacularLéon Georget (1879–1949) was a racing cyclist from Preuilly-sur-Claise, Indre-et-Loire, France. He was known as The Father of the Bol d'Or, having won the race nine times between 1903 and 1919 in Paris.
- Image 17Credit: ChePriit Narusk in the qualification for the Tour de Ski cross-country skiing competition in Prague.
- Image 18Credit: 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.
- Image 19Photo: Armin KübelbeckKiril Lazarov (b. 10 May 1980) is a Macedonian handball player active since 1991. He currently plays for HBC Nantes and is also the captain of the North Macedonia men's national handball team.
- Image 20Credit: Ralf RoletschekMartin Sesaker representing Norway in curling at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics.
- Image 21Picture: 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.
- Image 22Photo 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.
- Image 23Photograph 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.
- Image 24Photograph credit: Savyasachi, retouched by ukexpatLaura Dekker (born 1995) is a New Zealand–born Dutch sailor who completed a solo circumnavigation of the globe in a 12.4-metre (41-foot) two-masted ketch from 2010 to 2012. Dekker was fourteen years old when she set off from Gibraltar rather than the Netherlands, because the Dutch shipping regulations did not permit anyone under the age of sixteen to skipper a boat of that size in Dutch waters. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, she started her record-breaking attempt from Sint Maarten in the Caribbean, passing through the Panama Canal and traversing the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans before completing her circumnavigation back at Sint Maarten. This picture shows Dekker attending the 2011 Hiswa Boat Show in Amsterdam.
Did you know...
- ...that West Ham Stadium in London holds the record for the lowest ever attendance of a football match in The Football League, despite its capacity of 120,000?
- ...that cyclist Gerald Ciolek (pictured) became the youngest ever German National Cycling Champion, aged just 18 in 2005?
- ...that Thoroughbred racehorse Arazi's victory over Bertrando has been described as the single-most spectacular performance in Breeders' Cup history?
- ...that Welsh international footballer Joe Davies was suspended by Sheffield United for "lodging in a public house"?
- ...that Buzz Holmstrom was the first person to row alone all the way down the Colorado River from Green River, Wyoming to the Boulder Dam?
Selected quote
Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination. |
Selected athlete
Barnes helped create an enduring record when scoring 234 in the second Test against England at Sydney in December 1946; exactly the same score as his captain, Don Bradman, in the process setting a world-record 405 run fifth wicket partnership.
He made his first-class début at the end of the 1936–37 season when selected for New South Wales and was later included in the team for the 1938 Australian tour of England, making his Test début in the final international of the series.
On the resumption of Test cricket after the war, Barnes was picked as the opening partner to Arthur Morris. He was a member of The Invincibles, the 1948 Australian team that toured England without losing a single match. Retiring from cricket at the end of that tour, Barnes attempted a comeback to Test cricket in the 1951–52 season that was ultimately and controversially unsuccessful.
Barnes was a shrewd businessman who used the opportunities afforded by cricket to supplement his income through trading, journalism and property development. Increasing paranoia brought about by bipolar disorder saw Barnes lose many of the friends he had made through the game, as he sought treatment for his depression. On 16 December 1973, he was found dead at his home in the Sydney suburb of Collaroy; he had ingested barbiturates and bromide in a probable suicide. (Full article...)
Selected team
The Avalanche were founded in 1972 as the Quebec Nordiques as a member of the rival World Hockey Association. The Quebec Nordiques were one of the World Hockey Association's original teams when the league began play in 1972. The Nordiques became members of the NHL in 1979 with the NHL–WHA merger. Following the 1994-95 season, the Nordiques were sold to the COMSAT Entertainment Group of Denver and relocated there, where they were renamed the Avalanche.
In their first year in Denver, the Avalanche won the Pacific Division and went on to sweep the Florida Panthers in the Finals, becoming the first NHL team to win the Stanley Cup in the season following a relocation. Among teams in the four major American professional sports leagues, only the National Football League's Washington Redskins had also accomplished the feat. This was the first major professional sports championship a Denver based team would bring to the city.
In the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 4–3 to win their second and most recent championship. The 2000–01 season was the best season the team has ever had, with the team finishing the regular season with a 52–16–10–4 record for 118 points.
The Avalanche have won eight division titles and they qualified for the playoffs in each of their first ten seasons in Denver; the streak ended in 2007. (Full article...)
In this month
- 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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