Some athletes warm up with equipment from other sports

How Shohei Ohtani made baseball fun again

To rise to the level of Major League Baseball in recent decades, a player needs to become a specialist in at least one of the sport's many skills: hitting, pitching, throwing, running, fielding. For decades, this specialization has made a so-called...

Several NFL teams incorporate yoga into their training

Although brawny football players might not seem like obvious yogis, many of the NFL’s athletes have taken to the practice for flexibility and mindfulness. Several teams, including the Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, and Dallas Cowboys, make the practice a part of their conditioning routine.

Fantasy sports began in the 1860s

“Sebring Parlor Base Ball,” a tabletop board game in which players flicked a coin as if they were hitters is believed to be the first game that allowed players to imagine themselves as athletes without actually taking part in physical activities.

The longstanding bond between the NBA and anime

Japanese anime and the National Basketball Association may not have obvious similarities, but fans have long noticed the shared themes of heroic accomplishment and intense competition. Both NBA players and fans draw inspiration from anime, comparing dramatic basketball moments to well-known anime scenes.

Statcast runs machine learning models in the 23-second gap between every pitch

The same Hawk-Eye cameras that track spin rate, exit velocity, and sprint speed also feed proprietary team models that update in near-real time. Some organizations have built streaming pipelines to surface insights mid-at-bat before the next pitch arrives.

How is the climate like baseball?

A two-minute video taking a lighthearted look at an unexpected analogy, explaining why some people call carbon dioxide (and the other greenhouse gases) the steroids of the climate system.

Some say baseball's drug problem goes back to the late 1800s

At age 32, pitcher James “Pud” Galvin was feeling tired and decided to take "the Brown-Séquard elixir," which contained a testicular fluid from dogs and guinea pigs, believed to invigorate tired bodies. It might've worked: Galvin pitched a two-hit shutout the next day.

Why professional tennis players are so picky about balls before serving

Just as swimmers shave their bodies before competitions to swim faster, experiments show that tighter, less fluffy balls experience less drag forces when moving through the air and thus produce faster serves at the cost of less control. Players may select a fuzzier ball in scenarios that call for safer, more cautious play.

NFL kickers are kicking the ball farther than ever before

A combination of training, technique, and new rules regarding equipment has led to a sharp improvement in kicking since 2020. Certain players are now allowed to keep footballs with them throughout the practice week and play with a ball of their choosing during games.

Professional and amateur athletes have used the anthem as an opportunity to protest

Colin Kaepernick’s protests during NFL games weren’t the first instances of athletes using the pregame tradition to make a political statement. This history walks through several similar instances, highlighting several lesser-known instances.

The quarterback cadence is a unique quirk to the game of football

Only the offense knows when the ball will be snapped, giving the team with the ball the advantage. Common combinations of colors and numbers (like "blue 42") were codes for plays early in the sport, but are now used arbitrarily.

The evolution of the baseball bat

Torpedo bats may be the latest, most powerful kind of baseball bat, but the instrument's history is long. This Smithsonian resource traces the bat's evolution from handmade objects forged by the players to mass-produced marvels of physics designed by companies like Louisville Slugger. Along the way, you'll see some interesting takes on the form, including bats referred to as "mushrooms" and "bananas."

Strength training doesn't require fancy equipment—cans, water bottles, and shopping bags work well

The goal with strength training is to stimulate your muscles by straining them a bit, so using any everyday items at home that you can barely lift easily will help you meet that goal. Over time, users can increase the weight they're lifting and their repetitions to provide a greater workout.

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

Olympians view sleep as a performance tool, prioritizing routine and environment

Elite athletes emphasize consistent sleep routines, dark and cool environments, the well-placed nap, and tools like eye masks, white noise machines, and supplements like melatonin (particularly for jet lag). This priority belies a core principle: recovery and performance are inseparable. Read more ways Olympians "sleepmaxx" here.

Cold War rivalries fueled fierce competition in international sports

From Olympic medal counts to hockey showdowns, the US and USSR used sports to showcase ideological superiority. Athletic victories were framed as proof that each system—capitalist or communist—produced stronger, more disciplined citizens.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent a summer training with monks in central China to train his body and mind.

One NHL team tosses salmon to its fans

Detroit Red Wings fans have thrown octopuses on the ice since 1952, and fans of other teams have tried their own hand at tossing things in the rink ever since. It's now become a calling card for the Seattle Kraken, whose fans nod to the city's Pike Place Market by tossing salmon onto the ice.

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.

The Cybathlon is an international competition for assistive technology

The competition pits teams against each other in eight races targeting different innovations, such as arm prostheses, leg prostheses, and vision assistance. Participants in the Cybathlon use it to push the boundaries of technology, including brain implants and assistive software that incorporates AI.

Bill Bowerman got the idea for the breakthrough waffle-knit running shoe from a waffle iron

Nike cofounder Bill Bowerman was trying to find new ways to create traction for his runners on artificial turf. He looked at the waffle iron and realized that the pattern would work for the shoes’ soles.

NFL quarterback puts mayo in coffee, scores deal with Hellmann's

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis went viral when, as Kentucky's quarterback in 2022, he was captured on video using mayo in his coffee instead of cream. Now an NFL pro, Levis was offered a lifetime contract with the mayonnaise producer...

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.

'Sometimes the biggest problem is in your head. You’ve got to believe you can play a shot instead of wondering where your next bad shot is coming from.'

- Golf great Jack Nicklaus (1940-present)

One Connecticut prison is using pickleball for rehabilitation

The Pickleball for Incarcerated Communities League started in 2023 at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Hartford, Connecticut, but has already expanded to other facilities across the state. Inmates say it's been transformative. The program has plans to expand to other states.

67 US high school athletes died from exertional heatstroke between 1982 and 2022

Many of those deaths were from football specifically, where student athletes play in hot conditions while wearing heavy protective gear. Few states mandate heat guidelines for school athletes, and this article says that's of increasing concern with more high heat index days.

The quintuple jump in figure skating is feasible, according to physics

As of 2025, many figure skaters feature jumps with four spins in their routines by achieving rotation rates of 400 RPM over 20 inches off the ground. By increasing one's rotation rate to about 430 RPM or jumping closer to three feet off the ground—a height reached by NBA players—five spins are possible.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

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

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

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.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

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

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

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.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

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.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

Poison ivy is in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and pistachios—and they all produce oily urushiol in their raw, unprocessed state—but they are typically prepared in ways to avoid causing human discomfort.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

Animal phobias are likely the most common type of phobias, followed by an extreme fear of heights.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace