Basketball

is a sport, generally played by

two teams of five players on a
rectangular court. The objective
is to shoot a ball through a hoop
18 inches (46 cm) in diameter
and mounted at a height of 10
feet (3.048 m) to backboards at
each end of the court.
A team can score a field goal by
shooting the ball through the
basket being defended by the
opposition team during regular
play. A field goal scores three
points for the shooting team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line, and two points
if shot from in front of the line. A team can also score via free throws, which are worth one point,
after the other team is assessed with certain fouls. The team with the most points at the end of
the game wins, but additional time (overtime) is issued when the score is tied at the end of
regulation. The ball can be advanced on the court by throwing it to a teammate, or by bouncing
it while walking or running (dribbling). It is a violation to lift, or drag, one's pivot foot without
dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling.
There are many techniques for ball-handlingshooting, passing, dribbling, and rebounding.
Basketball teams generally have player positions, the tallest and strongest members of a team
are called a center or power forward, while slightly shorter and more agile players are
called small forward, and the shortest players or those who possess the best ball handling skills
are called a point guard or shooting guard. The point guard directs the on court action of the
team, implementing the coach's game plan, and managing the execution of offensive and
defensive plays (player positioning).
Basketball is one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports. The National Basketball
Association (NBA) is the most popular and widely considered to be the highest level
of professional basketball in the world and NBA players are the world's best paid sportsmen, by
average annual salary per player. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues
qualify to continental championships such as the Euroleague and FIBA Americas League.
The FIBA Basketball World Cupattracts the top national teams from around the world. Each
continent hosts regional competitions for national teams, like EuroBasket and FIBA Americas
Championship.
The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup features the top national women's basketball teams
from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA, whereas
the EuroLeague Women has been dominated by teams from the Russian Women's Basketball
Premier League. In women's basketball the ball used is smaller than that used in men's
basketball. The circumference of the ball for women is 28 1/2 to 29 inches. The basketball in the
men's game is between 29 1/2 and 30 inches.

Soccer
Association football, more commonly known
as football or soccer, nicknamed The
World
Game or The Beautiful Game, is a team
sport played
between
two
teams
of
eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played
by 250 million players in over 200 countries and
dependencies, making it the world's most
popular sport. The game is played on a
rectangular field with a goal at each end. The
object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal.
The goalkeepers are the only players allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it
is in play and only in their penalty area. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the
ball, but may also use their head or torso. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the
match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game
goes into extra time or a penalty shootout depending on the format of the competition. The Laws
of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863.
Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association
Football (FIFA; French: Fdration Internationale de Football Association), which organizes
World Cups for both men and women every four years.

Tennis

is a racket sport that can be played individually

against a single opponent (singles) or between
two teams of two players each (doubles). Each
player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord
to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over
or around a net and into the opponent's court. The
object of the game is to play the ball in such a way
that the opponent is not able to play a valid return.
The player who is unable to return the ball will not
gain a point, while the opposite player will.
Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all
levels of society and at all ages. The sport can be
played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. The modern game of tennis
originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as "lawn tennis". It had close
connections both to various field ("lawn") games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older
racket sport of real tennis. During most of the 19th century, in fact, the term "tennis" referred to real
tennis, not lawn tennis: for example, in Disraeli's novel Sybil (1845), Lord Eugene De Vere
announces that he will "go down to Hampton Court and play tennis.
The rules of tennis have changed little since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that from 1908 to 1961
the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tiebreak in the
1970s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology
coupled with a point challenge system, which allows a player to contest the line call of a point, a
system known as Hawk-Eye.
Tennis is played by millions of recreational players and is also a popular worldwide spectator sport.
The four Grand Slam tournaments (also referred to as the "Majors") are especially popular:
the Australian
Open played
on hard
courts,
the French
Open played
on
red clay
courts, Wimbledon played on grass courts, and the US Open played also on hard courts.

Volleyball
is a team sport in which two teams
of six players are separated by a
net. Each team tries to score points
by grounding a ball on the other
team's court under organized
rules. It has been a part of the
official program of the Summer
Olympic Games since 1964.
The complete rules are extensive.
But simply, play proceeds as
follows: a player on one of the
teams begins a 'rally' by serving the
ball (tossing or releasing it and then hitting it with a hand or arm), from behind the back boundary
line of the court, over the net, and into the receiving team's court. The receiving team must not let
the ball be grounded within their court. The team may touch the ball up to 3 times but individual
players may not touch the ball twice consecutively. Typically, the first two touches are used to set up
for an attack, an attempt to direct the ball back over the net in such a way that the serving team is
unable to prevent it from being grounded in their court.
The rally continues, with each team allowed as many as three consecutive touches, until either (1): a
team makes a kill, grounding the ball on the opponent's court and winning the rally; or (2): a team
commits a fault and loses the rally. The team that wins the rally is awarded a point, and serves the
ball to start the next rally. A few of the most common faults include:

causing the ball to touch the ground or floor outside the opponents' court or without first
passing over the net;

catching and throwing the ball;

double hit: two consecutive contacts with the ball made by the same player;

four consecutive contacts with the ball made by the same team;

net foul: touching the net during play;

foot fault: the foot crosses over the boundary line when serving.

The ball is usually played with the hands or arms, but players can legally strike or push (short
contact) the ball with any part of the body.
A
number
of
consistent techniques have
evolved
in
volleyball,
including spiking and blocking (because these plays are made above the top of the net, the vertical
jump is an athletic skill emphasized in the sport) as well as passing, setting, and specialized player
positions and offensive and defensive structures.