Introduction to Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world.

A regulation basketball hoop consists of a rim 18 inches in diameter and 10 feet high mounted to a backboard. A team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the hoop during regular play. A field goal scores two points for the shooting team if a player is touching or closer to the hoop than the three-point line, and three points if the player is "outside" the three-point line. The team with more points at the end of the game wins, but additional time may be issued when the game ends with a tie. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it while walking dribbling or passing it to a teammate. It is a violation to walk with the ball, carry it, or to double dribble.

Various violations are generally called "fouls". Disruptive physical contact is penalized, and a free throw is usually awarded to an offensive player if he is fouled while shooting the ball. A technical foul may also be issued when certain infractions occur, most commonly for unsportsmanlike conduct on the part of a player or coach. A technical foul gives the opposing team a free throw.

Basketball has evolved many commonly used techniques of shooting, passing, and dribbling, as well as specialized player positions and offensive and defensive structures and techniques. Typically, the tallest members of a team will play "center", "small forward", or "power forward" positions, while shorter players or those who possess the best ball handling skills and speed play "point guard" or "shooting guard".

While competitive basketball is carefully regulated, numerous variations of basketball have developed for casual play. Competitive basketball is primarily an indoor sport played on carefully marked and maintained basketball courts, but less regulated variations are often played outdoors in both inner city and rural areas.

American football

American football, known in the United States as football, is a sport played between two teams of eleven. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. The ball can be advanced by running with it or throwing it to a teammate. Points can be scored by carrying the ball over the opponent's goal line, catching a pass thrown over that goal line, kicking the ball through the opponent's goal posts or tackling an opposing ball carrier in his own end zone.

In the United States, high school football, college football and professional football are played under slightly different rules. High school football is governed by the National Federation of State High School Associations, college football by the National Collegiate Athletic Association and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, while the major professional league is the NFL.

The sport is also played in Europe, Japan and Mexico. The International Federation of American Football acts as an international governing body for the sport. American football is closely related to Canadian football but with some differences in rules and the field.

The Elimination Chamber Match (WWE)

The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure or "chamber" which encloses the ring. The chamber's floor is platformed over the ringside area which elevates it to ring level and within the chamber are four inner enclosures outside each ring corner. While similar in profile and nature to WWE's original large scale steel-structured match, Hell in a Cell, the Elimination Chamber match is strictly a six participant match wherein two participants begin the bout in the ring as the remaining four are held within each inner enclosure and are released into the match at five minute intervals. The objective is to eliminate each opponent from the match via pinfall or submission. The winner is the last remaining participant after all others have been eliminated. As in the Hell in a Cell match, disqualifications do not apply. The structure itself is 16 ft (4.9 m) high, 36 ft (11 m) in diameter, weighs over 10 tons, and comprises 2 mi (3.2 km) and 6 tons of chain. 13 Elimination Chamber matches have taken place in WWE since its inception in November 2002.

English Premier League

The English Premier League is the most watched football league in the world and if you're not yet a regular

viewer and want to know more about it then this article gives you all the information required to get started.

The premier league is the richest of all leagues with an estimated revenue of around $3.5 billion for the

2007-08 season. It is the 1st tier of English football and it comprises of 20 teams. All 20 teams play each

other twice in each season, once home and once away, making it a total of 38 games per team in a

season. The football season starts in August every year and ends in Mayof the following year. Presently

the Barclays bank is the main sponsor of the premier league and hence it is officially known as the

Barclays Premier League (BPL).

The league is based on a system of promotion and relegation. At the end of each season, the bottom 3

teams in the BPL are relegated to the football league championship, which is the 2nd tier of English football

and 3 teams from there come up to the Premier League. The league standings are decided on the basis of

a points system. A win is worth 3 points whereas a drawn match earns both the teams a solitary point.

There are no points for a loss. At the end of the season, the team with the maximum number of points is

declared the league champion. If two teams have the same number of points, then the one with the higher

goal difference (goals scored-goals conceded) finishes above the other. If the goal difference is also

identical then the team with more goals scored finishes higher.

The Premier League was founded on 20th February 1992 and before that it was known as the football

league first division. This came about because the clubs in the old first division decided to break away from

the football league, which was founded in 1988, to take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal.

The UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League (formerly European Cup) is Europe's best club contest, including Europe's top league finishers. It has some of the best teams and players in the world.

Previously referred to as the European Cup, a knock out cup, a group stage was added. As such, it is now called the Champions League. Also worth nothing, it was originally just for champions of European leagues, but now  no longer since expanding to 32 teams.

So the Champions League has 32 teams overall, which are drawn into eight groups of four. These teams then play home and away, with the usual three points for win and one for draw. The top two teams from these groups then qualify for a knock out stage. There is also a provision for 3rd place teams to play in the Europa League.

The knock out stage then has four rounds including the final. Teams play each other on a home and away basis, with the scores for both games added for a total score. As such, it is possible to lose games here and still progress. Also worth noting, if the tie is tied then away goals can be used to decide it. For example the games are drawn 0-0 and 2-2, then the team that drew away from home goes through. So, it counts as an extra goal in this case. At any rate, if the away goals are also level then the tie goes to extra time and penalties.

The only exception is the Champions League final, which is one game only. Here, the final is played and decided by extra time and penalties if necessary. There is no final replay. Then when the final is won the Champions League trophy, which is the same used for European Cup, is then lifted.

Qualification for the Champions League is not just for league champions. Since expanding, up to four teams from Europe's best leagues can qualify for the event by finishing in the top four places. However, the lower placed teams enter preliminary play-off qualification along with some of Europe's weaker sides required to pre-qualify. Noting that this really is applicable to Europe's strongest leagues, and weaker leagues have more limited qualification places.

League football

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football. It was the top level football league in England from its foundation in the 19th century until 1992, when the top 22 clubs split away to form the Premier League.The Football League has been associated with a title sponsor since 1983. As this sponsor has changed over the years the league has been known in turn as the Canon League, the Today League, the Barclays League, the Endsleigh League, the Nationwide Football League and the Coca-Cola Football League, until the present sponsor npower was adopted in 2010, contracted until 2013.
         Since 1995 it has had 72 clubs evenly divided into three divisions, which are currently known as The Championship, League One, and League Two. Promotion and relegation between these divisions is a central feature of the League and is further extended to allow the top Championship clubs to exchange places with the lowest placed clubs in the Premier League, and the bottom clubs of League Two to switch with the top clubs of the Football Conference, thus integrating the League into the English football league system.
The Football League is also the name of the governing body of the league competition, and this body also organises two knock-out cup competitions, the Football League Cup and the Football League Trophy.

FIFA World Cup 2010

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The bidding process for hosting the tournament finals was open only to African nations; in 2004, the international football federation, FIFA, selected South Africa over Egypt and Morocco to become the first African nation to host the finals.The matches were played in ten stadiums in nine host cities around the country, with the final played at the Soccer City stadium in South Africa's largest city, Johannesburg. Thirty-two teams were selected for participation via a worldwide qualification tournament that began in August 2007. In the first round of the tournament finals, the teams competed in round-robin groups of four teams for points, with the top two teams in each group proceeding. These sixteen teams advanced to the knockout stage, where three rounds of play decided which teams would participate in the final.
In the final, Spain, the European champions, defeated third-time finalists the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time, with Andrés Iniesta's goal in the 116th minute giving Spain their first world title, the first time that a European nation has won the tournament outside its home continent. Host nation South Africa, 2006 world champions Italy and 2006 runners-up France were eliminated in the first round of the tournament.