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...)
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Did you know...
- ...that sex determination in sports is no longer practiced at the Olympic Games?
- ...that in the history of Major League Baseball, twelve batters have hit two grand slams in the same game?
- ...that the 1903 Tour de France often required riders to cycle through the night?
- ...that French tennis player Henri Leconte won 9 ATP titles in an 11 year period?
- ...that a pit stop (pictured) in Formula One autosport involves about 20 mechanics?
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After training with Mildred Burke, she wrestled in Japan under the name Monster Ripper. Although she found adjusting to the Japanese culture difficult, Sing held All Japan Women's title on two occasions and was the first Calgary born wrestler to gain success in Japan. In 1987, she returned to Canada and began working with Stampede Wrestling, where she was rebranded Rhonda Singh. During 1987, she was named their first Women's Champion. She held the title until September 22, 1988, when she lost to Chigusa Nagayo. Over the next few years, Sing once again traveled throughout the world and wrestled for a number of companies, holding several titles. Between 1987 and 1990, Sing worked in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council (WWC), where she held the WWC Women's Championship on five separate occasions by defeating Wendi Richter, Candi Devine, and Sasha in matches for the title.
In 1995, Sing was contacted by the World Wrestling Federation to help their fledgling women's division. She, however, was repackaged as Bertha Faye, a comedic character who lived in a trailer park and dated Harvey Wippleman. Sing made her WWF debut on the April 3, 1995 episode of Monday Night Raw participating in a sneak attack on Alundra Blayze, making it appear as if Blayze's nose had been broken. At SummerSlam, Faye defeated Blayze for the WWF Women's Championship and held the title until the October 23, 1995 airing of Monday Night Raw, where Blayze regained the title. In late 1999, she worked with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) briefly, appearing on several telecasts to help generate interest in a women's division. She was also a contender for both the WCW Cruiserweight Championship and WCW Hardcore Championship. In addition to competing in matches using her Singh and Monster Ripper gimmicks, she also made a couple of appearances with the Nitro Girls dance troupe under the name "Beef", for comic relief. After leaving WCW, Sing quit wrestling. (Full article...)
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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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