Sports & Recreation Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-11-2025

Getting your kid out onto the soccer field for organized play takes some planning. Most areas have multiple programs to choose from with different levels of play at different age groups. This Cheat Sheet gives you some tips on what to look for in available soccer programs to help you pick the right one. Then, there’s a guide on the basics your kid needs to get out there for the first game or practice. Finally, you have a role to play on game day itself: Take a look at ten things to do and not to do as a soccer parent.

Article / Updated 03-18-2025

Listen to the article:Download audio March Madness is the nickname for the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Division I basketball tournament, one of the most exciting championship events in women’s sports. Happening alongside the men’s March Madness, the tournament always begins in mid-March. And like the men’s contest, it involves 68 teams (of the approximately 350 Division I women’s teams). Thirty-two teams are automatically entered into March Madness; the remaining 34 are selected by the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee, which bases its selection on how the teams performed during the regular season. The committee also seeds the teams, meaning they rank the teams and decide where to “plant” them within the tournament bracket. These rankings are announced on Selection Sunday. Four of these 68 teams are eliminated during the opening round of the tournament, called the First Four. The basketball committee then divides the remaining 64 teams into four regions of 16 teams each, and they are ranked 1 through 16. Each team’s rank is referred to as their seed. Where the games are played At the beginning of the tournament, the games are played on campus sites. The 2025 regional rounds — Sweet 16, Elite 8, and Final Four — will be played at two sites: Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington. The championship game will be at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Here is the 2025 schedule, for the women’s March Madness: Selection Sunday: March 16 (brackets, seeds, and team selections) First four: March 19-20 First round: March 21-22 Second round: March 23-24 Sweet 16: March 28-29 Elite Eight: March 30-March 31 Final Four: April 4 National Championship: April 6 You can watch games on ESPN and ABC. The 2025 top seeds The No. 1 overall seed in the women's NCAA tournament is UCLA, although South Carolina is the oddsmakers' favorite . The four number-one seeds in the women's tournament are: UCLA South Carolina Texas USC The number-two seeds are: N.C. State Duke Texas Christian Connecticut Origin of the women's NCAA March Madness tournament Although the NCAA Division I basketball tournament has been around since 1939, the women were not included until 1982. Women had a long fight with the NCAA before that, even after Title IX was passed in 1972, to realize this big change. Strangely enough, that first NCAA women’s contest in 1982 coincided with another championship tournament put on by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). (Incidentally, Rutgers beat Texas to win the AIAW championship, and Louisiana Tech beat Cheyney State to win the NCAA tournament.) Why were there two tournaments? Because up until the 1981-1982 school year, the NCAA was not interested in women’s sports championships. Those had been under the purview of the women-led AIAW, which had been governing women’s collegiate sports since 1971. Of the many ways it supported women’s sports, the AIAW played a role in the passage of Title IX in 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs or activities that receive federal funding. However, in 1981, when the all-male-led-NCAA added women’s sports to its championship program for the first time, it created an uneven playing field in the battle with the AIAW for the governance of women’s collegiate sports. That fight lasted for about a year, but ultimately, the power and money of the NCAA won out. The AIAW folded in 1982. Inequities within March Madness Unfortunately, the NCAA hasn’t valued women’s sports as much as men’s sports throughout most of its existence. However, that is beginning to change, and one of the most conspicuous examples came with the 2022 NCAA women’s basketball tournament. An outcry on social media during the 2021 March Madness tournament pointed out the stark inequities between the men’s and women’s practice facilities and amenities. This led the NCAA to hire a law firm to conduct a review of gender equity related to the tournaments in general. The resulting report uncovered many examples of inequities related to spending on marketing and promotion, players’ meals and services, event staffing, and more. The report led the NCAA to try to level the field in 2022. It expanded the number of women’s teams from 64 to 68, the same as the men, and used the “March Madness” phrase for the women’s tournament for the first time. The organization also provided the same gifts to the men’s and women’s teams in 2022, staged similar fan events, and paid the game officials the same. However, there still remained a large gap between the NCAA’s spending on promotion, TV coverage, and more. In a March 11, 2022, Washington Post article, Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball, wouldn’t comment on the gap in spending between the men’s and women’s tournaments. However, he did say, “The work is not done. There is more to do, and we look forward to doing more after this year’s championship.”

Article / Updated 03-18-2025

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hosts a basketball tournament every year that begins the week of March 16. The tournament includes 68 men’s teams and 68 women’s teams. (The NCAA expanded the women's field from 64 to 68 in 2022.) The men’s tournament is televised on CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV network affiliate stations; the women’s tournament will be available on ESPN, the ESPN app, ABC (for the title game), and Sling TV. The schedule for the 2025 men’s NCAA March Madness tournament is as follows: Selection Sunday: March 16 (brackets, seeds, and team selections) First four: March 18-19 First round: March 20-21 Second round: March 22-23 Sweet 16: March 27-28 Elite Eight: March 29-30 Final Four: April 5 National Championship: April 7 The schedule for the 2025 women’s NCAA March Madness tournament is as follows: Selection Sunday: March 16 (brackets, seeds, and team selections) First four: March 19-20 First round: March 21-22 Second round: March 23-24 Sweet 16: March 28-29 Elite Eight: March 30-March 31 Final Four: April 4 National Championship: April 6 Selection Sunday Each year on Selection Sunday, 32 teams gain automatic entry into the tournament due to winning their conference’s championships. The remaining teams rely on a selection committee to be granted entry into the tournament. This process takes place on the Sunday before the March Madness Tournament begins and, therefore, is appropriately named Selection Sunday. It is also the day when the brackets and seeds are released to the public. Brackets are the format in which the tournament runs. For example, on the day of the First Four games, there will be four brackets and eight teams playing; the four losing teams will then be removed from the tournament and the four winning teams will move to their new brackets and prepare for the next round of games. After the First Four, the regular tournament begins with 64 brackets including the winning teams that played in the First Four. The winner from each bracket will move on to the next set of brackets until eventually all teams have been “weeded” out and only two remain to play for the championship game. Seeds are essentially committee rankings. The teams in each division are ranked in descending order, with the strongest team (or team most likely to win) ranked in the number-one spot and the weakest team in that division is ranked number 16. The brackets are split up accordingly so the tournament's powerhouse teams are evenly distributed within the 64 brackets. The First Four round The First Four refers to the number of matches/brackets played — not number of teams. The First Four includes the eight lowest ranking teams in the men's division that play against each other, and the four losing teams are removed from the tournament. This part of the tournament is also known as “First Four Out” since four of the teams will lose out of the tournament before it even has really begun. The First Four Out was designed to get the 68 men's teams down to 64 so that the number of teams is the same as in the women's divisions. The brackets and dates, therefore, can be the same for both the men and women divisions. This part of the tournament applies only to the men's teams. In the First Round, those 64 teams play against each other to move on to the Second Round. Second round In the Second Round, the remaining 32 teams play in 16 brackets, and the winners of each bracket then move on to the regional semi-finals (Sweet 16 round); the losers again are removed from the tournament. Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds The regional semi-finals, also known as the Sweet Sixteen, is where the final sixteen teams are set up in matches against other teams within their regional divisions. The divisions are broken up into geographical areas and listed as follows: East West South Midwest The winners of the regional semi-finals are then moved to the regional finals where only eight teams remain, known as the Elite Eight. These eight teams play head-to-head to determine the winners, and the remaining four teams from all regions are matched up in the national semi-finals. The Final Four After regional finals, the remaining four teams from all regions are eligible to play in the national semi-finals. These remaining four teams are known as “The Final Four,” and this is where many people start watching the tournament. The final four teams then play, and the two winners from the national semi-finals move on to the national finals. Championship game The national finals or championship game is where the final two teams play to determine the winner of the current year's March Madness tournament. The NCAA has changed the format of the game several times in its history, as well as the name. In recent years the name of the tournament has been simply “NCAA Division 1 Tournament,” but the more popular March Madness title will always remain.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-12-2025

When you buy a new electronic gadget, it often comes with a quick-start guide that helps you get up and running. Unfortunately, most stand up paddleboards (SUPs) don’t come with a user manual. Think of this cheat sheet as your quick-start guide to SUP equipment, techniques, and common mistakes.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 01-27-2025

If you’re ready to hit the open road in a recreational vehicle (RV), you need to start by understanding the different types of RVs available. Unless you want to buy your own RV, you need to know where to rent one. Finally, if you’re looking to camp for free, without the hassle of a campground and noisy neighbors, you need to know how to find free camping locations across the United States. Read on for all the information you need.

Article / Updated 12-06-2024

Good rhythm in your golf swing doesn’t just happen. You need to set the tone for your swing with your waggle. A waggle is a motion with the wrists in which the hands stay pretty much steady over the ball and the clubhead moves back a foot or two, as if starting the swing. Waggling the club serves three main purposes: Waggling is a rehearsal of the crucial opening segment of the backswing. When you use a waggle, you don't have to jump right into the full swing without getting used to the feel of it. Waggling can set the tone for the pace of the swing. In other words, if you have a short, fast swing, make short, fast waggles. If your swing is of the long and slow variety, make long, slow waggles. Be true to your style. In golf, you don’t want to start from a static position. You need a running start to build up momentum and to keep your swing from getting off to an abrupt, jerky beginning. Waggling the clubhead eases tension and introduces movement into your setup. The waggle is actually the second-to-last thing you do before the backswing begins — the last thing is your swing trigger. A swing trigger can be any kind of move. For example, 1989 British Open champion Mark Calcavecchia shuffles his feet. Gary Player, winner of nine major championships, kicks his right knee in toward the ball. A slight turning of the head to the right is Jack Nicklaus’s cue to start his swing. Your swing trigger is up to you. Do whatever frees you up to get the club away from the ball. Create the flow!

Video / Updated 08-22-2024

A lot of information is crammed into this short video to help you minimize risk and maximize gain when playing fantasy football. You get tips to follow during the entire season from when to pick your key players during the draft, when to concentrate on coaching and bye weeks, and when to use the waiver wire and online trade calculators.

Article / Updated 05-31-2024

Your fishing rod has a limit to how much weight it can lift and cast effectively. This is called the “power” of the rod. Anglers can use this chart as a guide to match up the right rod, lure weight, and line size for the right balance. Rod Power Lure Weight Line Size Ultralight 1/64–1/16 oz 1–4 lb test Light 1/16–1/4 oz 4–8 lb test Medium Light 1/4–1/2 oz 6–10 lb test Medium 1/2–1 oz 8–12 lb test Medium Heavy 1–4 oz 12–25 lb test Heavy 4–8 oz 20–40 lb test Extra Heavy 8 oz and above 25 lb test and above

Cheat Sheet / Updated 05-14-2024

Skateboarding is a form of transportation, an extreme sport, a fun activity, a full-body workout, and a fascinating subculture all rolled into one, and it’s a community that welcomes everyone. If you’ve been thinking about skateboarding and don’t know how to get started, you’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll find skateboarding tips for beginners, instructions on how to adjust your skateboard to make it easier to keep your balance, techniques for stopping in an emergency, tips for getting sponsored, and a mini-glossary that’ll have you speaking like a skateboarder before you even lace up your first pair of skate shoes. Keep it fun! Learning to skateboard requires time and effort, but it should be fun work, not the kind of work you dread doing. Keeping it fun means you’ll do it more and be more creative while building the confidence and coordination you need to excel.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 05-14-2024

Riding a bike is one of the greatest things on earth, offering low-impact recreation, affordable transportation, and life-changing freedom for folks around the world. It’s also a heckuva lot of fun! Before you can feel confident knowing where to begin there is a lot to know before buying a bicycle, and lots to know about fixing and maintaining one, too!