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Sports

Love it or hate it, the vuvuzela is the voice of South African soccer fans and will be on display at the 2010 World Cup.

Vuvuzela: The Buzz of the World Cup

Deafening to fans, broadcasters and players, the ubiquitous plastic horn is closely tied to South Africa’s soccer tradition

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Muhammad Ali’s Gear Headed to the Permanent Collections

The current game of jeu de paume evolved from a game played by southern French villagers and monks in the 11th century.

Jeu de Paume: Holding Court in Paris

Court tennis, the quirky game of finesse and speed that once dominated France, is now kept alive by a small group of Parisians

The little league baseball team from Monterrey, Mexico became the first team from outside the United States to win the Little League World Series.

The Little League World Series’ Only Perfect Game

In 1957, Mexico’s scrawny players overcame the odds to become the first foreign team to win the Little League World Series

For every hybrid sport that gets the Olympic seal of approval, there are dozens of others languishing in obscurity.

Hybrid Sports in a League of Their Own

From underwater hockey to chess boxing, could these unheralded hybrid sports be ready for prime time?

Yuichiro Miura set the world speed skiing record at Italy's Kilometer Lanchard in 1964, only to see it broken the next day.

The Godfather of Extreme Skiing

Meet Yuichiro Miura, the man who skied down Mt. Everest more than 50 years ago

Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati won snowboarding's first gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

The Top Ten Important Moments in Snowboarding History

Since its mid-1960s inception, snowboarding has seen such a boom in popularity that it is now an event at the Winter Olympics

Born in America during the 1930s, roller derby’s popularity rises and falls with periodic regularity.

Roller Derby’s Sisterhood

Ithaca’s SufferJets may have ironic skate names and elaborate uniforms, but on the track, it’s all business

Despite living in multiple cities throughout the decades, this sports fan can't root against his home team.

Last Fan Standing

Why I’ll always root for the home team

Charles Atlas playing tug of war with the Rockettes atop Radio City Music Hall

Charles Atlas: Muscle Man

How the original 97-pound-weakling transformed himself and brought physical fitness to the masses

James Winkfield was a two-time Kentucky Derby winner and raced across Europe after racism kept him from being the best athlete in America's most popular sport.

The Kentucky Derby’s Forgotten Jockeys

African American jockeys once dominated the track. But by 1921, they had disappeared from the Kentucky Derby

With the concave shape of the asphalt lanes, the path of the ball can be unpredictable. Veteran players, however, have learned to use the physics of the wheel-like disk and the curvature of the lane to their advantage.

Weave, Wobble and Roll: Feather Bowling

The unusual Belgian sport has a small but loyal following in Detroit

Hungarian water polo player Ervin Zador's eye is injured during the closing minutes of a game against the Soviets.

Blood in the Water at the 1956 Olympics

Political turmoil between Hungary and the Soviet Union spills over into an Olympic water polo match

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Interview with Leigh Montville

The sportswriter discusses John Montague’s fabled antics and how the man changed golf

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Moses at the Bat

In the Big Inning…

On the golf course, Montague would bet on anything, even if it involved equipment not usually found in a golf bag.

Montague the Magnificent

He was a golfing wonder, a dapper strongman and the toast of the Hollywood smart set—then his past caught up with him

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Tomatoes in the Bullpen

Surprising trivia about America’s beloved baseball fields

Louis Castro (bottom row, left) played 42 games as a second baseman for the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1902 season. Because his birthplace is questioned by baseball historians, he may or may not have been the first Hispanic player in the Major Leagues.

Debating Louis Castro

Was he the first foreign-born Hispanic in the Major Leagues?

"Into another realm": "Midget" Farrelly surfs the shore break off Makaha, Hawaii, in 1968.

Endless Summers

For almost 50 years, surfing legend LeRoy Grannis has been shooting the curl

Wimbledon has been more than a site for the greatest players to shine; often, it has shaped the entire sport.

A Brief History of Wimbledon

From a 19th century garden-party event to today’s international spectacle, the storied tournament has defined tennis

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