A game played by two teams of 11 players each on a rectangular, 100-yard-long field with goal lines and goal posts at either end, the object being to gain possession of the ball and advance it in running or passing plays across the opponent's goal line or kick it through the air between the opponent's goal posts. Game in which two 11-member teams try to propel a ball into the opposing team's goal, using any part of the body except the hands and arms. Only the goalkeeper, when positioned within the penalty area in front of the goal, may use hands and arms. The game's first uniform set of rules was put in place in 1863, when England's Football Association was created. Professional leagues began appearing in the late 1880s, first in England and then in other countries. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in 1904, and has hosted the World Cup every four years since 1930. Football has been included in the Olympic Games since 1908. Now played on all continents in over 150 nations, with over 40 million registered players, it is the world's most popular ball game.

Most of the modern forms of football are derived from ancient games, especially harpaston and harpastrum, played in Greece and Rome. These survive today in Tuscany and Florence under the name calcio. Meanwhile a rugged, undisciplined type of football took root in the Middle Ages in England, where despite royal edicts banning the game from time to time, football remained popular until the early 19th cent. Different forms of the game soon developed at the various English public schools, including Rugby, Eton, and Harrow. Eventually, two main games emerged. One was primarily a kicking game, which later became association football, or soccer; the other (dating from 1823) was football as played at Rugby, in which carrying the ball and tackling were permitted.

Game played with rackets and a light, elastic ball by two players or pairs of players on a rectangular court divided by a low net. Tennis is played indoors and outdoors, on hard-surface, clay, and grass courts. The object is to hit the ball over the net and into the opponent's half of the court in such a way as to defeat the opponent's attempt to reach and return it. Each player serves for an entire game. Points are scored as 15, 30, 40, and game (the term “love” is used for 0). A tied score (“deuce”) requires continued play until a two-point margin is achieved. The first player to win six games, with a lead of two games, takes the set. A match consists of the best two out of three (or three out of five) sets. Since the early 1970s, tiebreakers have been employed to eliminate marathon sets. Tennis developed in the 1870s in Britain from earlier racket-and-ball games. The first world lawn-tennis championship was held in 1877 at Wimbledon; clay- and hard-court competitions emerged later. Current international team tournaments include the Davis Cup for men and the Federation Cup (since 1963) for women's teams. The major tournaments for individual players constitute the “Grand Slam” of tennis: the national championships of Britain (Wimbledon), the U.S., Australia, and France.

Hockey in the United States originated during the summer of 1894. American and Canadian college students participating in a tennis tournament in Niagara Falls, Canada, learned that during the winter months they played different versions of the same game. The Canadians played hockey, the Americans a game they called "ice polo." Boasting of their prowess, the students challenged each other to a competition. In a series of matches staged that next winter in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Kingston, the Canadians won all the hockey games and managed to tie two of the ice polo contests. Within a few years American colleges and amateur clubs along the Eastern Seaboard had forsaken ice polo for hockey.

At approximately the same time, Minnesotans learned about hockey from their neighbors in Manitoba; players from the upper peninsula of Michigan also challenged Canadians in hockey games. The debut of the Western Pennsylvania and Interscholastic Hockey leagues brought hockey also to Pittsburgh and its environs. By the turn of the twentieth century, hockey had become popular in three separate regions of the United States.

Growing up, most everyone has been punished once or twice by having their car privileges taken away. As Mom or Pop might say, "driving is a privilege, not a right." While they were probably accurate and sending a good message, having to depend on someone else for transportation after receiving a license is a major bummer. Similarly, for gamers who have played Sony's Gran Turismo racing games, playing any other racing sim can feel like having your car taken away from you. That said, any fan of Gran Turismo will feel like they are in a Turkish prison if they are forced to play Agetec's racing sim, Racing. Easily the best part about Racing is that the game is so short, so limited in options, and so ugly that gamers who dare to put it into their PlayStation will soon be playing something else that is almost sure to be ten times better. Where Gran Turismo and its sequels feature enough real cars to fill up several dealership lots, Racing features six terribly animated cars -- one for each level of difficulty plus the opposing three cars that are in every race. Honestly, competing game companies would have to work very hard to make cars look worse than these. From time to time, certain cars actually look like they belong to the Ghostbusters rather than on a racetrack.

While the car selection in Racing is pitiful, the game's tracks are even worse. The game only has three courses to choose from: short course, long course, and mirror course Sadly, the quality of these courses does not make up for the lack of quantity. Gamers will probably achieve first place on their first or second try on the uninspiring courses, regardless of what difficulty at which the course is played. This is because Racing's control scheme takes no effort to master. Gamers simply need to take their finger off the acceleration button to ease through even the most daunting curves in the game in novice mode, or gently tap the break in tougher levels of difficulty.