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Understanding the Doping Controversy That’s Hit Sled Dog Racing

Four-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey’s dogs tested positive for banned substances, but Seavey claims it was sabotage

Testing football gear

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Could This Strange Fluid Prevent Concussions and Twisted Ankles?

Army researchers, academics and industry have been using shear thickening fluids for body armor, better football helmets, rehabilitation tools and more

Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) right before the famous match in Battle of the Sexes.

The True Story Behind Billie Jean King’s Victorious “Battle of the Sexes”

Smithsonian sports curator Eric Jentsch offers a look at her legacy beyond the legendary match

“As a guard, what I liked about the ABA ball was the color,” said former ABA player Gene Littles. “It was a special feeling to take a long shot and watch those colors rotate in the air and then see the ball with all those colors nestle into the net. It made your heart beat just a little bit faster when you hit a 25-footer with the ABA ball.” -Loose Balls by Terry Pluto

The ABA Was Short-Lived, but Its Impact on Basketball Is Eternal

The spectacular play you see today owes a mighty debt to the revolutionary, slam-dunking basketball league

Capoeira roda in the Arts and Industries Building at the 2017 Folklife Festival.

How Brazilian Capoeira Evolved From a Martial Art to an International Dance Craze

The athletic movements may have inspired modern break dancing

1879 football match between Yale and Princeton

Turn-of-the-Century Kid’s Books Taught Wealthy, White Boys the Virtues of Playing Football

A founder of the NCAA, Walter Camp thought that sport was the cure for the social anxiety facing parents in America’s upper class

The 1919 Chicago White Sox team photo.

The 1919 Black Sox Baseball Scandal Was Just One of Many

They say baseball “lost its innocence” after 1919, but betting and other improper behavior was rampant in early-20th-century baseball

Casey stands at bat in a 1912 illustrated version of the poem.

‘Casey at the Bat’ Leaves a Lot of Unanswered Questions

Was there a Casey? Where did he strike out? Does it really matter?

Robots in the "kid-size" (really around 16 inches tall) Robocup soccer league face off. These "Rhoban" bots, built by students at the University of Bordeaux, took first place in their division in the 2017 competition.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Why Funny, Falling, Soccer-Playing Robots Matter

The 2017 RoboCup brings small changes and big competition to a broad technical challenge

The degenerative disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, is common in football players, boxers, veterans and others exposed to head trauma.

New Research

Disease Found in 99 Percent of Brains Donated by NFL Families

The degenerative brain disease develops after repeated concussions or blows to the head

"Many people, Indian and otherwise, will continue to fight until your team name sits in the rubbish heap where it belongs," says Gover.

Commentary

The Washington Football Team Can Legally Keep Its Racist Name. But It Shouldn’t

The director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, and a citizen of the Pawnee Nation, speaks out against the D.C. sports franchise

A relatively significant number of people lace up their shoes to run across the country every year.

A Brief History of People Running Across America

Fictional character Forrest Gump wasn’t the only one to do it, not by a long shot

In his journal, Earl Shaffer, who walked in 16-mile stages, documented his 124-day odyssey.

The Army Veteran Who Became the First to Hike the Entire Appalachian Trail

His journal and hiking boots are in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

The Flamingo's 'Champagne Tower' was one of the first big pieces of neon on the Strip, seen in films like 'Viva Las Vegas.' It was installed in 1953 and removed in 1967.

The Stylish Flamingo Hotel Shaped the Las Vegas Strip

The Flamingo, still operating today, is the oldest hotel on the Strip

For the times that licking an ice cream cone is too difficult, this patented motorized ice cream cone does the work for you. Happy summer.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Motorized Ice Cream Cones and Floating Campgrounds: 14 of the Wackiest Summer Fun Patents

Inventors never stop thinking of new ways to have fun, as these 14 patents show.

With the idle set at 54 percent of full throttle, drivers could unleash the car by merely stepping off the brake.

When a Jet-Powered Car Raced in the Indianapolis 500

The racecar tore up the track and dazzled fans at the legendary competition—and then vanished

New Research

Social Networks May Give Runners a Motivational Leg Up to Hit the Pavement

Friends’ running habits may have more influence on your workouts than you might think

Wife Stands by Babe and Defies Accuser by Underwood & Underwood, 1925

Would the Legendary Babe Ruth Still Be a Star if He Played Today?

Award-winning sportswriter Jane Leavy says the Bambino would be as big a personality as he was in his own time

What Is Dark Matter and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Researchers scanned the brains of memorizers as they practiced tried-and-true memory techniques to see how their brains changed in response to their training.

New Research

Neuroscientists Unlock the Secrets of Memory Champions

Boosting your ability to remember lists, from facts to faces, is a matter of retraining your brain

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