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The Origins of All 32 NFL Team Names

What do newspaper headline type and the New Deal have to do with the Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles? Here are the stories behind the nicknames of the NFL’s 32 teams—and what they were almost called.Arizona... READ ON

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6 Epic At-Bats

Major League batters see, on average, about four pitches per at-bat. So something like an 8-pitch at-bat is considered pretty long. If nothing else, these types of at-bats help to run the pitch-count up, and getting the starting pitcher out of the game is always on the opposing team's mind. But what about the endless at-bat—the ones that stop the game in its track? While detailed baseball stats have been kept practically since the game was born, the number of pitches a batter faces per... READ ON

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Brain Game: Breaker! Breaker!

Thanks for playing the TuesdayÂ Brain Game. Enjoy: Six major-league sports teams currently in the "big four" (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL) have names with the initials C.B. One that's close is the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets (whose initials are technically C.B.J.). Name the six teams. Here are the ANSWERS. THE ANSWERS: Charlotte Bobcats (NBA) Chicago Bears (NFL) Chicago Bulls (NBA) Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) Cincinnati Bengals (NFL) Cleveland Browns (NFL) Defunct big-four teams that would have... READ ON

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World Cup: The Seven Sins of Soccer

The 2010 FIFA World Cup begins June 11th in South Africa. The whole world is watching! To get into the mood, here are some stories you may not know of the seamier side of the wholesome sport of football.... READ ON

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How the Indy 500 Came About

Sunday, the annual Indianapolis 500 race will be held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The speedway is celebrating its "centennial era" from 2009-2011, so this race is not officially referred to as "the 94th", even though that is the number of the event. Some races were skipped during wartime. The three-race, two-year celebration commemorates the opening of the speedway in 1909 and the first 500-mile race in... READ ON

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Video: Quidditch World Cup

We've written about the Quidditch World Cup before -- it's a competition in which muggles play a real-world version of the fictional Harry Potter game. Below, check out actual video from the event at Middlebury College. Do you wonder what Muggle Quidditch players look like? You're about to find out. Warning: this video contains nerds and jocks. And, weirdly, nerdy jocks. See also: Calvinball, Quidditch and other fictional sports you can play and Curling Term or Quidditch... READ ON

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The Late Movies: Horse Racing Hijinks

The 136th annual Kentucky Derby is tomorrow. To get into the mood, here are some classic races from all over featuring creatively-named horses. The first four feature sportscaster Tom Durkin lending his abilities to the silliness.... READ ON

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5 Notable Kentucky Derby Non-Winners

Horses like Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Citation go down in history for winning the Kentucky Derby. You might also be interested in the stories of some horses that didn't win. 1. Dancer's Image... READ ON

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The Late Movies: Stadium Demolitions

Last week, after Texas Stadium was demolished, I emailed blog overlord Jason English to pitch this Late Movies about demolished stadiums. I was totally unaware that Texas Stadium had just come down; I just knew that I liked to watch the YouTube video of Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium imploding. I'm a born-and-bred Philadelphian and remember watching the Vet's demolition on live television. Any readers out there see any of these implosions live? Texas Stadium Opened: October 24, 1971. Demolished:... READ ON

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot: A Brief History of Presidential Pitching

"Last year, more Americans went to symphonies than went to baseball games. This may be viewed as an alarming statistic, but I think that both baseball and the country will endure." "“ President John Fitzgerald... READ ON