Sports

Frank Deford of Real Sports for HBO.

Frank Deford on Bloggers, the Olympics and 51 years of Sportswriting

The legendary writer for Sports Illustrated dishes on, among other things, the changing relationship between athletes and the journalists who cover them

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Spanx on Steroids: How Speedo Created the New Record-Breaking Swimsuit

After Olympic officials banned the swimsuit that caused records to fall at the 2008 games, scientists are back with a new outfit that might break even more

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Two Women Finish Olympic 100 Meter Trial At Exactly the Same Thousandth of a Second

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Saudis to Send Women to London Olympics After All

The B.A.A. team in the stadium in Athens.

The Men Behind the First Olympic Team

Mocked by their peers and kicked out of Harvard, the pioneering athletes were ahead of their time... and their competition in Athens

Seven female swimmers at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., 1920

How Bathing Suits Went From Two-pieces to Long Gowns and Back

Bikinis may have been illegal in 1900, but they were all the rage in ancient Rome

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Yankees Fans Actually Do Keep Their Enemies Closer — In Their Minds, At Least

The author was recruited very temporarily by this traveling team of cyclists from Corsica when he arrived at Col du Soulor (1,474 meters/4,724 feet).

Where Lance Remains the King

Among the peaks, cirques and summits of the French Pyrenees, the greeting call to an American on a bike may always be "Armstrong!"

Carl Mays, pitcher for the 1920 New York Yankees

A Death at Home Plate

These cyclists are enjoying another day on the trail in the Crocodile Trophy, in northeastern Australia, considered one of the most punishing bicycle races in the world.

Grueling Travel through Beautiful Places: the Madness of Extreme Races

The Crocodile Trophy mountain biking race is off-road, meaning gravel, rocks, ruts, puddles, dust and lots of crashing

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The Nationals’ Bryce Harper Plays Softball on the Mall

The new outfielder for the Nats made some new friends on the Mall last night

This custom-made board carried Kelly Slater to victory in Australia in 2010; the champion got his first surfboard at age 8 and from that moment, he says, “I was hooked.”

Kelly Slater, the Chairman of the Board

An ode to surfing’s fiercest, most successful competitor – who now has a place in the Smithsonian collections

King Juan Carlos, at right, stands with his guide from Rann Safaris as his dead Botswanan elephant lies propped against a tree.

World Wildlife Hunt

It takes $6,000 to shoot a leopard in Botswana. For $1,200, you can shoot a crocodile. Short on cash? There's always baboons, which go for $200 a pop

David Baggett, famed among noodlers, explodes from the water with a giant catfish in his hands.

Hand-Fishing for Swamp Monsters

"It's the most exhilarating thing I've ever done," says filmmaker Bradley Beesley, whose documentaries have popularized the ancient art of noodling

Participants in a MovNat course carry logs and perform other backwoods workout drills with the goal of retraining their bodies to a level of fitness that our species forgot long ago.

Backwoods Workouts With the World’s Fittest Man

Erwan Le Corre can climb a tree as quickly as cat. He can also carrying logs, hoisting rocks, scaling cliffs, slogging through mud pits and wrestling

Teahupo'o, Tahiti

The Breathtaking Surfing Photos Featured in Swell

A new book catalogues some of the best sites around the world to catch a wave with stunning photography

These Northern California abalone divers have bagged their limits and are out of the water again safely. On some "ab" dives, tragic accidents happen.

The Most Dangerous Game: Chasing a Sea Snail?

Abalone divers die of exhaustion, heart attacks, or becoming entangled in kelp. The fear of being eaten by a great white shark is persistent and haunting

El Capitan, as seen here from the floor of Yosemite Valley, was once considered almost unclimbable.

A Short Talk With a Legend of Rock

"Climbing without risk isn't climbing," says Yvon Chouinard, American rock climbing pioneer and founder of Patagonia

Jetpack pilot at Super Bowl I in 1967

The Super Bowl’s Love Affair With Jetpacks

Thankfully, this Super Bowl spectacle never had a wardrobe malfunction

What's tougher: Rugby or American football?

Football or Rugby: Whose Players are Tougher?

Could football players last 80 minutes in a rugby match? The great debate continues

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