The MLB consist of 30 teams

The NBA consists of 30 teams and 450 players

The teams are divided into two conferences, the Eastern and Western, each playing 82 games from mid-October to mid-April. Conference champions meet in the NBA Finals each year in late May or June to crown a league champion.

Major League Baseball, explained

Major League Baseball is America’s oldest professional sports league. Alongside triumphs, the league has faced scandals, including drug abuse and steroid use, shaping its path over the decades. Today, MLB embraces new rules, international talent, and a growing connection to legalized sports betting.

MLB teams can travel with roughly 12,000 pounds of gear and luggage

Each of the league's 30 teams has travel directors facilitating intricate logistics to move players and luggage to the next city, often after a game and the night before another game day. This video breaks down the wild planning required.

Every baseball used by the MLB lasts about seven pitches

Handmade in Costa Rica, the balls meet strict MLB specs: cork or rubber cores, wool yarn, Tennessee cowhide, and 108 stitches. Before play, they’re coated in Lena Blackburne mud from a secret New Jersey spot, ensuring grip and consistency for the big game.

The top 100 players in baseball history

More than 20,000 players have played in Major League Baseball since the 1870s, many passing in and out of the memory of even die-hard fans. While necessarily subjective, these rankings based on votes from baseball writers ranks those whose greatness left a lasting impression. From Barry Larkin (No. 100) to Babe Ruth (No. 1), explore the top 100 baseball players over more than a century.

The NFL is the most valuable sports league in the world

NFL teams are worth a total of $228B. Each team holds an average value of over $7.6B, almost as much as the NBA and MLB combined. The Dallas Cowboys, valued at $12.5B, are the most valuable sports franchise on Earth.

There are 32 teams in the NFL

Click a team's name to see their current record and opponent for the day; read the latest news, including injuries; view the remaining schedule; find out where the team is in the standings; discover the current roster; explore all player and team stats; and watch the latest video highlights.

Measuring which nation has the most baseball fans

It's known as America's pastime, but just how devoted are Americans to baseball? FiveThirtyEight outlines several metrics indicating Puerto Rico may have the most devoted fanbase. See how they used an adjusted metric to rank the world's biggest...

National Hockey League, explained

Founded in 1917, the NHL started with four Canadian teams and now spans 32 franchises across North America. Its iconic Stanley Cup, first awarded in 1893, remains a unique prize, with winners' names hand-engraved each year. The league generates billions in annual revenue, aided by key expansions, lucrative TV deals, and global fan engagement. While player safety and labor disputes have posed challenges, the NHL remains a cornerstone of professional sports, offering an 82-game season culminating in the fiercely contested Stanley Cup Final.

Minor leaguers once unionized for better pay, housing, and medical care

For decades, Minor League baseball players endured overcrowded housing, indifferent medical care, and all-night bus rides for a chance to make it to “The Show.” And they did it for as little as $4,800 a year.

The MLB's reserve clause gave owners rights to players after their contracts expired

The clause was added to contracts in 1879, allowing owners to hang on to players after the expiration of their contracts, sometimes in perpetuity.

Leagues like the Premier League differ from the World Cup

The Premier League and other similar club leagues are professional organizations like the NFL or the NBA, where owners purchase player contracts. World Cup teams, on the other hand, are organized by citizenship.

X Games League to debut team-based format in 2026

Beginning in 2026, the X Games League will feature four city-based franchises with male and female athletes competing in skateboarding, BMX, and motocross—introducing season-long team competition to the event’s structure.

The Big Ten is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the US

Established in 1896 with seven members, the Big Ten has expanded far beyond its Midwestern roots. As of 2024, it includes 18 schools—stretching coast to coast from Rutgers in New Jersey to UCLA in California.

The Super Bowl is the National Football League’s championship game

Played annually in early February between the league’s two conference champions, the game was created as part of the 1966 merger between the American Football League and the National Football League. It has become the most-watched sporting event in the US each year.

There are over 800 annual marathons, but only seven deemed World Marathon Majors

The races—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, Sydney, and New York City—are on some of the best-known courses in the world and are run by some of the sport’s top athletes.

The tournament in 2026 will have 48 teams

After 24 years of having a 32-team tournament, the FIFA World Cup will get an upgrade in 2026, expanding the field to make it the largest World Cup ever.

The longest word in English is 189,819 letters long

The wildly-winding word (so long that we can't fit it here) is the proper name for titin, a protein that keeps muscles elastic.

How March Madness Selection Sunday works

March Madness is one of the most popular American sporting events, but most viewers aren't aware of how its 68 teams are selected for the prestigious national tournament. This official process overview breaks down how the teams are selected, seeded, and placed into the bracket. Knowing the ins and outs might not stop you from disputing the committee's selections, but at least you'll understand how they came to those decisions.

Little League sensation Danny Almonte was two years older than his competitors

The New York pitcher was a hotshot pitcher in the 2001 Little League World Series, catapulting his Bronx team to a third-place finish thanks to a no-hitter and a perfect game. Sports Illustrated eventually reported that Almonte was 14, not 12, and that his coach and father had knowingly misled Little League. They were both banned, though Almonte himself was cleared of all wrongdoing.

A list of US labor unions

Maybe you’ve heard of the Teamsters, the trucking union that's among the most well-known labor unions in the US. But you might not have heard of the National Association of Letter Carriers. As it turns out, there can be a union for almost every profession, no matter how niche.

Explore NASCAR’s dozens of tracks across the US and Mexico

See detailed information on every track used for NASCAR’s top three divisions. Tracks vary in shape, length, and seating capacity.

The Dow now tracks 30 major US companies across various industries

Since 1928, the DJIA has included 30 firms. Today's group spans technology, healthcare, and finance—with Apple, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, Pfizer, and Coca-Cola among its most recognized components.

See the total number of Lyme cases per state in 2023

New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts had the highest total number of Lyme disease cases in 2023. New York had more than 22,000 cases that year. Maine had one of the highest Lyme incidence rates of disease that year—213 per 100,000 people—but only 2,942 cases overall.

The Spanish flu had a major impact on the 1919 NHL season

Just two years after the National Hockey League was officially formed, its champion was playing the PCHA champion for the Stanley Cup. The series was tied, going into the deciding Game 5, when all but three NHL players fell ill with the Spanish flu. No champion was crowned that year.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

Between 10 million and 50 million people in the US develop rashes from poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak each year.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.