There are about 8,000 listed sports and these consist mainly of a mixture of physical and mental activities – some of which are not really that popular among people. Hence, it is understandable status there are those who contest of their status as “sports” and pose that they’d be removed. Wikipedia has narrowed it down to 500 but this list remains to be debatable. Regardless though, there are those competitive games that have won the hearts of different nationalities and are continuously celebrated worldwide. These sports are able to gather crowds and lift spirits, thereby, making them the most popular sports in the world.

1. Volleyball. According to statistics, there are about 998 million volleyball participants in the world (not necessarily professional players) and about 218 affiliated national federations. It is played in all countries and was even made the national sport of Sri Lanka.

2. Basketball. This leading sport has 400 million practitioners and 211 associated national federations. It is also one of the most popular, with NBA (or the National Basketball Association) as the most popular and successful league in the field.

3. Baseball. It is the national sport of the United States and a well-known activity among Asian and European countries. With about 60 million participants, 117 member nations and 110 affiliated national federations, baseball may be one of the most profitable sporting ventures to date.

4. Football. Though originally a European sport, football is now also a U.S. bred activity. It has about 2 million followers and 97 affiliated national federations. It is not really that heavily practiced in the East except for Japan. But in the United States, it has rose to become on of the most watched sporting events of the year. In support, the National Football League generates $6.2 billion annually for their season.

5. Finally, soccer. This sport has over 242 million practitioners and 204 associated federations. It is played in 93 countries and 208 member nations. Europe houses the biggest fans of this sport and during the FIFA World Cup, there were about 26 billion people watching it.

Who would have thought that Brock Lesnar, 51 weeks off from fighting in the UFC, would submit one of the most dangerous heavyweights in mixed martial arts? Last Saturday, July 3, Shane Carwin (12-1) was defeated by heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (5-1) by submission through arm triangle choke. Everybody who watched the fight was shocked at the result which ended in 2:19 of the second round. Nobody suspected that Lesnar was going to submit Carwin seeing as both of them have great knock out power and speculated that they would only keep the fight standing up.

At first, many people doubted the return of Brock Lesnar to defend his heavyweight championship belt. Majority of the people gave an edge to Shane Carwin because of his experience and stronger punches seeing as the man had won all 12 of his fights by knockout, none of them going longer than three minutes and 49 seconds. Many thought that Lesnar might have lost his mixed martial arts skill in the ring since he contracted diverticulitis last year, forcing to postpone previous matches and even training. For 13 days he did not eat solid food and he lost 40-50 pounds of weight.

During the first round of their fight, it was nearly over for the heavyweight champion as Carwin hit Lesnar with a left hook that sent the 265-pound giant staggering towards the cage. The champion was clearly in trouble as Carwin kept hammering him with punches and elbows while Lesnar just tried to keep moving to prove to the referee that he was still defending himself intelligently. Josh Rosenthal showed good judgment during the fight and was proven correct when Lesnar survived to choke out Carwin later on.

Mixed martial arts sure bring plenty of surprises even for a fighter that has not been in the ring for 51 weeks due to illness. And who would have thought that Shane Carwin, the meanest puncher in the UFC with no losses, would be submitted by such a fighter?

Last September 28, 2009, I caught a glimpse of the opening of F1 Singapore Grand Prix, which was held in Singapore, on TV and I found it amazing. As was publicized, it was Singapore’s First Grand Prix event and the first night race in F1 history. It was cool to see drivers racing against each other in the familiar setting of the race track, but with a new night atmosphere. For the first time, the formula one racets sped with the illumination generated by a specially recreated light just for F1 2009. The total numbers of lighting projectors were almost 1,500 and they were four times brighter than the other average sports stadium lights. These lights enabled F1 racers to see clearly and drive accurately through the tracks at top acceleration. Undoubtedly, this historic event is just one of the many things to look forward to for Formula One Racing. The Singapore night race was also recreated in the form of a game. And for the first time ever, all gamers will be able to experience the excitement of being part of the F1 race.

The adrenalin rush you get while watching fast cars beat each other is just beyond compare. What more would racing against a dim backdrop be? Get to feel the exact same thrill of the F1 night race by playing your Nintendo Wii or PlayStation Portable. Wouldn’t it be great to experience real F1 action right in your own room? The F1 2009 games for consoles will surely be released later this year.  Several pictures that were captured during the actual race have been encoded by the game masters. A game feature will showcase some footage taken from the Singapore F1 2009 Street Circuit. If youw ant to know more about it, you can search the internet for the latest Wii games. This is a limited edition game made available for Wii and PSP only and it allows ad hoc mode and a player network of up to four. The F1 singtel Singapore grand prix race game has become iconic because of its interesting game features and great graphics and sounds. It is absolutely a bonafide collector’s item that the entire family and your group of friends will. This is another challenging game for experienced drivers and racing enthusiasts.

I was browsing the net to look for some interesting news or event when I came to a website that caught my attention. It was so interesting I ended up reading all of the articles. One was the top ten worst sports disaster. To my surprise there were a lot of sport disaster stories. First on the list was the Superga Tragedy. It was on Wednesday, the 4th of May 1949 when a plane carrying the Torino A.C football squad crashed into the Hill of Superga killing all 31 aboard including club officials, journalists and 18 players. It was said that the cause of the crash was due to low visibility.  Among the stories that intrigued me was the one on the fifth spot. In 1985, the Heysel Stadium was the venue of the game between Liverpool and Juventus, two of the biggest teams in Europe. The tragedy occurred when Juventus fans tried to attack Liverpool fans. On their effort of try to escape, a wall collapsed in the stadium. Reports say that there were 58,000 fans on the ground. About 350 were injured. There are a lot of stories but these two were the worst moments in sports. Hopefully organizers and sports official would learn something about these events.

Children are into physical activities such as sports. In fact, children are into sports even before they enter schools. These sports vary from one child to another.

Sports allow kids to engage in physical activities. It helps develop skills among these young citizens. Sports also teach children how to interact and deal with other kids. It creates friendship and develops leadership and camaraderie. Sports also develop self-esteem among children.

However, some sports can possibly put children’s lives at risk. A three year old trying to play with eight year old boys, for example, may be tipped over by bigger and taller boys. Hence there is a need to consider precautionary measures when playing outdoor games. Among the preventive measures against injury among children include choosing an appropriate sport for the child. Children ages 1-3 have different skill levels with that of children who are already 8-10 years old.

Parents should also determine security within the playground. Security here means more than getting the services of a security guard. This security includes the use of protective gears such as helmets and knee caps among others. These and many other peripherals will keep your child away from harm. Playgrounds should be free from holes, ruts, broken glasses, trashes and other materials that may cause harm to the children. It is also important that playgrounds are free from concrete surfaces to avoid other accidents.

Doing warm-ups also help prevent injuries. Warm-up activities conditions the body and increase the body’s flexibility of muscles and ligaments.

Researches claim that the most popular sport in the whole world is the American Football or Soccer. When defined, the term ‘most popular’ sport generally equates to being the ‘most watched’, ‘most played’ or ‘most revenue-generating’ form of play. In fact, reports reveal that football has the most number of stadiums around the world. The sport also claims to produce the most coveted football merchandise and furthermore, boasts of the most number of leagues or tournaments worldwide -The World Cup, UEFA Champions League, The South American Cup, The American Cup, The Asian Cup, 70 English League Teams, 40 Italian League Teams and 40 Spanish League Teams. Football basically ranks as the top among the list of sport competitions.

Football is believed to gather an estimated 3.5 billion people who either watch or play the sport. The World Cup, played every four years, is the global championship of this sport, and is actually popular in all parts of the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia as well as South America.

Next on the list of the most popular sport in the world is cricket. This sport which originated in England makes use of a bat and a ball and is popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and some Caribbean countries. Cricket is also a highly patronized sport in India and Pakistan. Cricket reportedly gathers an estimated 3 billion people who either play as spectator or engage in the game.

Field Hockey is cited as another popular sport next to cricket and football/soccer. It is estimated to gather 2 billion people, mostly from Asian countries, as well as Europe, Australia and Africa. Field Hockey is a sport usually played by high schools across the United States.

Tennis comes in fourth in the list and has an estimated 1 billion cumulative number of players and viewers from different parts of the world. This sport, which is popular in the United States, Asian countries, Australia and Europe, features four main tournaments which comprises the coveted Grand Slam title. These Grand Slam competitions include The Australian Open, The French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

Coming up next to tennis is volleyball, a sport with an estimated 900 million viewers and players around the world. Volleyball is popular in the United States where it originated. Volleyball is a game that does not require specialized equipment, but does demand excellent physical condition from its participants.

In the world of sports, the gym has been like their second home. Especially to athletes who need strength, speed and stamina in their games. Sports like American Football, English Football, boxing and basketball are just a few examples of a sport where the players need fitness workouts to gain more strength and stamina.

Every player who wants to dominate in the game gives their all in practices and workouts. The big men works out using a program with a lot of weightliftings in order to give them a sturdier body that has power. With all the muscles popping out of their bodies, the opponents will surely have second thoughts on taking them lightly. They might not have speed but the stamina gained from their workout gives them power and endurance.

The smaller ones does workout as well, but less on getting strong and more on generating speed and overflowing stamina. They are the ones who usually do a lot of running so, working out for just power would be a waste of time. Since their sport is somehow strenuous, they both need stamina to last the game longer. Working out will not only strengthen their body but also their mind. Since the mind is as active as your body, your mind is likewise exercising. This will help a player think fast, especially when time is winding down.

Going to fitness center is just a basic routine for athletes. They do it because they love it and by doing it they keep their bodies in tip top shape. In sports, it essential that you have the power, speed, stamina and a quick acting mind.

Sports would give you a healthy body as well as releasing the stress and tension that you are feeling all day long. In fact, you can enter a lot of sports if you would like to. Marathon, basketball, swimming, and soccer are just some of the sports that you would surely be having fun while interacting with other people. Just remember these things though when you choose to participate into sports.

a.) Stretching and Warming up

It is very important to stretch your muscles before workout. This is done in order to avoid muscle strain during sports activities. Also, your heart would gradually need to steady its rate during warm ups for it to prepare for the strenuous activity.

b.) Cooling Down

After the tiresome activity, release the tension inside your body by relaxing for a while. Through relaxing, you would only experience less muscle sores later on. So it is a good idea to cool down first before participating in any occasion.

c.) Drink Lots of Fluids

Water is the most important thing your body requires when you engage into sports. Your body is going to sweat a lot during the activities. And when your body runs out of fluids, dehydration would normally set in. If this happens, you need to drink water or sports drinks containing electrolytes which can replenish the fluids your body perspires.

d.) Healthy Balanced Diet

Eat a well-balanced and varied diet for it is important also to replace the nutrients, minerals, and proteins that are decreased during the activities. Fruits, green and leafy vegetables, fish, and red meat would be the appropriate food to eat. Drink milk and consume dairy products that contain calcium, which would add strength to your bones. This enables your bones to withstand the wear and tear you get as a result of a highly physical game.

Be active and engage in sports for it would give you an energetic body. Through sports, you would also meet other people that can help in motivating you towards a healthy lifestyle. This would result to having a good time and a great workout.