'Practice, which some regard as a chore, should be approached as just about the most pleasant recreation ever devised.'

'I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.'

- Baseball legend Babe Ruth (1895-1948)

'Adversity, if you allow it to, will fortify you and make you the best you can be.'

-American beach volleyball star Kerri Walsh Jennings (1978-present)

'Reputation is what others think about you. What’s far more important is character, because that is what you think about yourself.'

- Tennis champion Billie Jean King (1943-present)

A Quote by Sandra Day O'Connor

"Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time."

'Without goals, training has no direction.'

- Twelve-time Olympic swimming medalist Natalie Coughlin (1982-present)

A quote by gymnast Nadia Comăneci

"Do not pray for an easy life, pray to be a strong person."

'Unfortunately, many people do not consider fun an important item on their daily agenda. For me, that was always a high priority in whatever I was doing.'

-Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier (1923-2020)

A quote by athlete Walter Payton

"When you're good at something, you'll tell everyone. When you're great at something, they'll tell you."

'I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself.'

- Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992)

Billie Jean King on playing tennis before Title IX

Before Title IX, tennis legend Billie Jean King not only had to deal with limited resources; she also had to deal with isolating experiences, like being excluded from team photos at Long Beach State and being told to "get lost" by male teammates. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

'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)

'Do one thing every day that scares you.'

-Mary Schmich (1953-present), a columnist for the Chicago Tribune

A quote by Roger Federer

"There is no way around hard work. Embrace it."

'This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun.'

- Chef Julia Child (1912-2004)

Senda Berenson Abbott revolutionized women's basketball

In the late 1800s, college physical education programs were used to prepare post-Victorian Era women for the workforce. In 1890, Smith College built one of the country's largest and most well-equipped gyms and hired Senda Berenson to run its activities, which she did by revising basketball's rules so women could play while still meeting societal expectations.

'Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.'

- Judy Garland

'Follow your enthusiasm. It's something I've always believed in. Find those parts of your life you enjoy the most. Do what you enjoy doing.'

- "Muppets" creator Jim Henson (1936-1990)

'Sometimes opportunities float right past your nose. Work hard, apply yourself, and be ready. When an opportunity comes you can grab it.'

- Actress Julie Andrews (1935 - present)

'You will never be happier than you expect. To change your happiness, change your expectation.'

- Hollywood legend Bette Davis (1908 - 1989)

'The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.'

- Roger Bannister (1929-2018)

'I just enjoy the moment I'm in. For me, life is a whole experience, not just a series of isolated moments. It's like submerging yourself into a warm bath rather than sticking your toe under the faucet.'

- longtime 'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek

'One man can make a difference and every man should try.'

- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994)

A quote by Magic Johnson

"Celebrate the life you had, not the life you could've had."

'When you're climbing Mount Everest, nothing is easy. You just take one step at a time, never look back and always keep your eyes glued to the top.'

- Author Jacqueline Susann (1918-1974)

'A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.'

- Jackie Robinson, the first Black MLB player (1919-1972)

Is life all about pleasure? Debating the Experience Machine

If you could plug into an Experience Machine that gave you total pleasure all the time, would you do it? Philosopher Robert Nozick thinks you wouldn't, using this as evidence against hedonism, the view that life is all about pleasure. Explore the nuances of the argument and counterarguments with this accessible article.

A quote from sports journalist Stuart Scott

"In football, as in life, the hits you don’t see coming are the ones that do the most damage."

'There's a hell of a distance between wise-cracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wise-cracking is simply calisthenics with words.'

- Writer Dorothy Parker (1893-1967)

Martha Graham on preparation and discipline

This clip from the 1957 documentary "A Dancer's World" features the dancer explaining why she has committed all of her energy to her art. "Spontaneity … is something arrived at over years and years of training," she says. "It's not a mere chance."

One hundred ways to improve your life without really trying

Whether it’s taking fruit to work (and to the bedroom!), being polite to rude strangers or taking up skinny-dipping, here’s a century of ways to make life better, with little effort involved …

WNBA legend Sue Bird credits Title IX for her career

Few athletes are more decorated than Sue Bird, who’s won two NCAA championships, four WNBA titles, and five Olympic gold medals. In this interview, she explains how Title IX allowed her a successful career and why she believes the WNBA’s success is continuing to do the work that Title IX began.

'It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.'

- Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali (1942–2016)

'Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better!'

- Actress Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982)

Athletes are captured in moments of victory and defeat in 6 powerful sports images

See shots like Muhammad Ali knocking out Sonny Liston in 1965, or Brandi Chastain after winning the World Cup final in 1999.

Gladys Heldman was a key promoter of pro women's tennis

The photo of the Original Nine holding up their $1 bills after signing their contracts is an iconic image in both the sport and the women's liberation movement. Gladys Heldman isn't in that photo, but she was the promoter behind the tournament and the subsequent Virginia Slims Circuit. This WTA Tennis article dives into her life and her unforgettable contributions to women's tennis.

Berenson's frailty led her to basketball

When Senda Berenson tried to study piano at school, she realized she was too frail. In 1890, she dropped piano and enrolled in the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics to increase her strength, which led her to a career in physical education.

'Don’t try to be young. Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won’t live long enough to find out about, but I’m still curious about them.'

- Actress Betty White (1922-2021)

Suzanne Lenglen dominated the tennis world in the early 1920s

Suzanne Lenglen, the sport's top female player from 1921-1926, embodied everything about Jazz Age women: she drank, she smoked, she cursed, and she bucked the trends of Victorian-era women with shorter skirts and sleeveless dresses. This Sports Illustrated article dives into her dominating 341-7 record, her impact in professionalizing tennis, and examines the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death at age 39.

'Most of man's problems upon this planet, in the long history of the race, have been met and solved either partially or as a whole by experiment based on common sense and carried out with courage.'

-Frances Perkins (1880-1965), first female member of US Cabinet