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Trailblazing African-American athletes have taken the spotlight this spring. Jackie Robinson’s oft-told story of shattering baseball’s color barrier has been recounted with style and grace in the fictional movie 42. In the NBA, journeyman player Jason Collins stunned the sports world with his revelation that he is gay. While both men will be long remembered for their roles in changing sports, other major African-American sports pioneers have been, if not forgotten, at least overshadowed in sports history. Most serious fans know about Robinson’s historic feat in baseball, but could the average sports fan name the first black player in the NFL? The NBA? How about the first black NASCAR driver? While few would argue that these men deserve the same accolades as Robinson — a star player who desegregated America’s most popular sport — they all faced similar challenges. And all deserve more credit than they’ve received.

You can’t turn on the TV these days without seeing a commercial featuring a retired athlete pitching a weight-loss plan, a restaurant, automaker, etc. It’s usually a win-win situation for both sides. Business executives get someone with star power to pitch their product; retired athletes who no longer collect big paychecks are eager to sell their endorsement for not only the money, but to extend their fame. Some of these commercials air and are soon forgotten, but a select few become so popular they become engrained in American culture. Here are 10 of the best-known national commercial campaigns featuring retired star athletes, along with a couple of local and national spots you’ve probably never seen.

When most Americans think of sports, they think of baseball, football, basketball, etc. But what about those people in countries around the world who have never heard of these sports? What do they do for sporting entertainment? We’ve uncovered five decidedly different international sports involving, in no particular order, a camel, a wife, a broomstick, boxing chess players and an ironing board. While only one of these strange sports is on the record for involving alcohol, we would not be surprised if a brewski or two led to the development of some of these other eccentric events. What's even more surprising is this — these sports are gaining in popularity, spreading to countries around the world, including in some cases the United States.

Danica Patrick is the talk of the sports world this weekend as she prepares to lead 42 male drivers to start the Daytona 500, the biggest race in NASCAR. Both men and women will watch to see how Patrick fares, as she’s the first woman driver to win the pole for that prestigious race. That said, Patrick did not arrive at this moment in sports history on her own; countless men and women before her have worked to bring gender equality to sports. Following are five of the watershed moments and figures that have boosted women’s sports.

As Baltimore and San Francisco battle for bragging rights in Super Bowl XLVII, one battle has already been decided — the Super Bowl will once again take honors as the highest-rated sporting event of the year. The results won’t even be close. While the Super Bowl’s audience continues to grow, setting records the past three years, other major U.S. sporting events haven’t been so fortunate. Some have been steadily losing viewers since the 1970s and early ’80s, and even more troubling, they may not have hit bottom yet, with recent events scoring record lows. Here’s a look at the top 10 most-watched sporting events on U.S. television, in terms of average viewers.

Pitcher Nolan Ryan made headlines in 1979 when he became the first player in U.S. team sports to sign a guaranteed $1 million annual contract. That figure is a mere pittance to today’s pro athletes; dozens of players now earn more than $10 million per year. Money plays such a critical role in pro sports that some fans have become veritable experts about salary caps, collective bargaining agreements and other business details. But you don’t need a business degree to enjoy these memorable quotes about money in sports.

Even many hard-core Pittsburgh Steelers fans missed this news item after the team’s 27-12 victory over the Washington Redskins on Oct. 28: With the win, the Steelers became the first team to reach 400 regular season victories since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger created the modern NFL. That immediately raises an obvious question: Which team has the second-most victories in that span? What about third, fourth, etc? And at the other end of the spectrum, which team has the worst record during that time frame? We checked data from ProFootballReference.com and compiled a list of the five winningest teams since 1970. Win totals are through the 2011 season, and include both regular and postseason victories.

More and more people are crossing “marathon” off their bucket list; in 2010, more than 500,000 American runners went the 26.2 distance, up from 299,000 in 2000. But where do you go when you’ve done all the classic races, such as New York, Chicago and London? If you don’t opt to either shave your times or try the “ultra” distances — generally considered to be any distance greater than 30.99 miles — you may be tempted to seek out more unusual races in exotic locales to test your personal limits. Be forewarned: Some of these so-called adventure races will turn your 9-minute-mile standard into an 18-minute mile pace — and you’ll be elated just to finish.

When the owners of the Boston Red Sox announced plans in 1999 to build a new facility to replace Fenway Park, Red Sox fans revolted at the idea of demolishing the old park. And so Fenway remains today, and the Sox celebrated the park’s 100th anniversary this year. Another historic baseball park, Chicago’s Wrigley Field, turns 100 in 2014. But a number of other stadiums and ballparks in the country will hit that magic milestone in the next few years, while some passed that mark several years ago.

Here’s a look at the 10 oldest stadiums and ballparks in the U.S. We limited this list to stick-and-ball sports, ruling out such venerable horse racing venues as Churchill Downs, which opened in 1875, and Belmont Park (1905), as well as Indianapolis Motor Speedway (1909).

Football at any level is a tough sport, but it’s especially brutal in the National Football League. The average length of an NFL player’s career tells the story. The NFL Players Association says the average NFL career lasts 3.2 years. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell begs to differ, saying that for players who make their first opening day roster, the average career is six years. Either way, for players entering the league at age 22, that means that somewhere between ages 25 and 28, they’re out of the league (and hopefully ready to put their college degree to good use). Then there are the players who defy the odds, and keep playing and playing, past the age of 35, past the age of 40 … and in rare instances, several years past age 40. Here are 10 players who not only played, but also excelled, in the NFL years after most of their contemporaries had retired.

It’s that time of year again, August, when fantasy owners begin a full blitz to prepare for their fantasy football draft. While player rankings and draft strategies obviously vary from year to year, there are some universal rules to fantasy football success that apply each season. Some of these strategies are the fantasy football equivalent of the Oakland Athletics’ legendary Moneyball system, emphasizing statistics over names, which turned that perennial low-budget baseball team into a contender. Fantasy football owners who are consistently successful already understand these theories, but even the best owners sometimes get caught up in the media hype about rookies, new head coaches and free agents in new surroundings. That said, here are five timeless fantasy football strategies that may help make you a winner this year and for many years to come.

As the world looks to the superstars of the 2012 summer Olympic Games in London, we’re looking back at the superstars of yester-Games. Unlike in baseball, football, and basketball, where comparisons between athletes from different eras can be difficult, statistics in Olympic events translate a little better across the ages. Surprisingly, many of the records we’ve highlighted below have held up incredibly well even after a half-century or more. Kind of makes you wonder how Jesse Owens, Mark Spitz, Wilma Rudolph or some of these other legends would have fared if they had access to the technology, training, nutrition, amenities and the sponsorship available to modern athletes.

The stunning tale of New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin’s overnight transformation from NBA benchwarmer into superstar has become an international phenomenon, with each day bringing new revelations about the Taiwanese-American player. The latest news to emerge: Lin is a devout Christian, and he’s now being dubbed the “Taiwanese Tebow” by some, in reference to Denver Broncos quarterback — and fellow Christian — Tim Tebow. Two such high-profile and devout Christian athletes sparking media frenzies in a matter of a few months probably has some evangelical Christians and non-believers alike wondering if the end times are at hand. But Tebow and Lin certainly aren’t the first athletes to make news for their evangelical beliefs. Here, in no particular order, are 10 notable sports figures from recent years who have openly expressed their Christian faith.

Most football fans would probably tell you that the best team that failed to win a Super Bowl would be the 2007 New England Patriots, who entered the big game that season with an 18-0 record but got spanked by the New York Giants. But those same Patriots had won a Super Bowl only three years before with the same coach, same system, same quarterback and essentially the same cast — nine of the 22 starters in that Super Bowl victory started three years later in the loss to the Giants. If you want to look at true hard-luck teams, here are the five greatest teams that did not win a Super Bowl despite a year or even several years in which they otherwise dominated.

Tim Tebow has been verbally attacked in the media, in sports bars and on fan blogs this season with a zeal usually reserved for pedophiles and serial killers. He’s certainly the most controversial athlete at the moment, due in large part to his “crime”: public prayer. The Denver Broncos rookie quarterback can take heart in the fact that it would take much more than “Tebowing” to crack this list of the 10 most controversial U.S. athletes of all time.

For those readers who got cut from their high school’s varsity football or basketball team and are still seething with resentment, even 40 years later … it’s time to get some professional counseling. But it’s normal for us mortals to be a bit in awe of those athletes who star in high school, earn a college scholarship, then achieve fame and fortune in pro sports. Then there are the athletes who somehow manage to achieve great success in two, three or even several sports. These athletes almost defy explanation. Here are the top 10 most successful multisport athletes in American sports history.

Most people have heard of the premier auto races in the United States, events such as the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500. Millions watch those races to see superstars like Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Helio Castroneves push their cars to the limit at speeds of around 200 mph. And then we have the races on this list. Few people have heard of them, far fewer could name any of the drivers who compete in them. But make no mistake, these drivers are also pushing their cars to the limit, at speeds of more than 200 mph in some cases — and they’re doing it not on famous race tracks, but on two-lane public highways, in some cases getting sideways near drop-offs of hundreds of feet. Here are five extreme open-road races in the United States.

After living in the sports-crazed Land Down Under, I declared that Aussies could turn the act of flossing into a “sport.” I meant the statement in jest at the time, but after finding these playground games and otherwise normal activities transformed into professional sports leagues, I realize that almost anything can evolve into a sophisticated athletic organization. It helps if the organization has faithful advocates and followers, tournaments in Las Vegas, cool uniforms, a Hall of Fame and, of course, ESPN2 coverage.

You see it every year in sports — a former all-star player, his skills greatly eroded, is released by his longtime team. Rather than retire, the player starts looking for another team, hoping to milk one more mediocre season out of his career. One attribute that makes great athletes special is their supreme self-confidence, but that becomes a negative if they’re convinced they can still perform when age and injuries have sapped their skills. The result can be sad to behold. Think Willie Mays in his bumbling stint with the New York Mets. Or Rickey Henderson playing in the minor leagues in his late 40s. Or Franco Harris shuffling around with the Seattle Seahawks.

On the other hand, some athletes know when to leave, walking away in their prime, or as champions. Here are 10 athletes who went out with a bang, at or near the top of their game. Some went out the sweetest way possible, winning a championship in their final hurrah.

You know the definition of “hardcore” in the endurance racing world has changed when No. 10 on the list is a comparatively “easy” marathon run, completed by some of the slower contenders, in five and a half hours — this following a 112-mile bike ride and 2.4-mile swim in choppy ocean waters. But consider the extreme competition on this list. In one race, you may find yourself hauling 32 pounds of pennies through a cold, rainy Vermont backwoods at 4 a.m. while memorizing Greek text. In another, you’ll run two marathons each day for 50 consecutive days, around the same course, over and over and over again. Given the choice, I’ll gladly pick the Ironman World Championship winding through scenic Kailua-Kona, Hawaii any day.

This list couldn't have been compiled 40 years ago. Well, it could have, but it wouldn't have been nearly as interesting to read. With a few notable exceptions, Hollywood didn't take sports movies terribly seriously until sports began to take on a more significant role in American society, roughly within the past 40 years. Ever tried to watch Anthony Perkins, an actor without an athletic bone in his body, pretend to adopt a batter's stance in the 1957 baseball film Fear Strikes Out? It's an embarrassment. The 12 movies on this list, all made since 1969, are credible, compelling examinations of the nature of competition, easy choices for a list like this. The hard part was deciding what 12 (or 24) other sports films to leave out, and determining the rankings, which we decided to list in chronological order.

Many of us harbor fond memories of trotting off to the baseball park, sporting our tattered leather gloves with our parents in tow. One big reason fans continue to flock to this patriotic pastime is the hope of seeing their favorite player belt one out of the park. Here are the top five Major League Baseball stadiums where you can expect to see some offensive fireworks.

When some sports fans think of NASCAR, they immediately imagine drivers who bang fenders before wrecking each other and then duking it out on pit road. Those images are all part of the sport's heritage, to be sure, but NASCAR has become the most popular form of motorsports in the United States thanks to some of the most talented drivers in the world and some of the most colorful characters in sports, including some icons who have become household names.

Just as baseball was built by legends such as Ruth, Gehrig, Musial and Mays, NASCAR became a mainstream sport thanks to names like Petty, Pearson, Yarborough, Allison and Earnhardt. Here’s a look at the top 10 drivers in NASCAR history.

Bowling isn’t just for pot-bellied, chain-smoking grownups — in fact, you can’t even smoke anymore in most bowling alleys (or anywhere else in America for that matter).  Although the non-smoking switch has totally ruined the phrase parents used to tell their kids when they caught them smoking – “You smell like a bowling alley” – it has freshened the alley’s air and ambiance to make it a hub of fun for all ages, sizes, skill levels and personalities. Bowling has enough oomph and longevity to have stuck around for years, and it remains a striking form of recreation that even borders on the trendy. Here are five ways bowling can be trendy fun for the whole family.

During the 2010 season, the average salary of a Major League Baseball player topped $3 million for the first time, according to the MLB Players Association. Of course, some players earned much more. With apologies to Carlos Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Beltran, and the other 6 billion of us who missed the cut, here are the 10 highest paid players in Major League Baseball for the 2011 season.

If you're the type of fantasy baseball player who compiles your own set of player rankings each February, this article isn't for you. But if you're the type who still can't remember the name of that new infielder your favorite team signed to a huge contract in the offseason, and who agreed to join your friends' league primarily out of politeness, here are 10 tips that may help lead you to victory.

America’s NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball stadiums have been destroyed at an increasing rate in recent years. Often hailed as the modern-day equivalent of Rome’s 2,000-year-old Colosseum, even some of the more famous major-league sports facilities built in the latter half of the 20th century enjoyed a brief lifespan of 30 to 40 years before being deemed obsolete and then demolished. The primary reason for the shortened lifespan of our modern stadiums is the booming revenue in professional sports. As teams make more money, they desire nicer facilities. Nicer facilities, in turn, help attract fans, corporate sponsors and increase revenue.

In constructing this list, we looked at the facility’s sports history, name recognition, and interesting aspects of its destruction. Frankly, you don’t even have to know a football from a hockey puck to appreciate the engineering genius that goes into the implosion of these large structures. Here’s a look at the top 10 stadium implosions since 2000.