In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from April to October. In other team sports, like association football or basketball, it is generally from August or September to May although in some countries - such as Northern Europe or East Asia - the season starts in the spring and finishes in autumn, mainly due to weather conditions encountered during the winter.
An exhibition game is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or the team's rankings is either zero or otherwise greatly reduced. In team sports, matches of this type are often used to help coaches and managers select and condition players for the competitive matches of a league season or tournament. If the players usually play in different teams in other leagues, exhibition games offer an opportunity for the players to learn to work with each other. The games can be held between separate teams or between parts of the same team.
Gregg Berhalter is an American retired soccer player and head coach of the United States men's national soccer team. Berhalter previously coached Columbus Crew SC in Major League Soccer, Hammarby IF in Sweden, and served as an assistant coach for the LA Galaxy.
The Asia Series was an international club baseball competition, contested by the champions of all four of the professional leagues that are associated with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) — Australian Baseball League (ABL), Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), Korea Baseball Organization League, and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) — along with the CEB European Champion Cup holder and the host city, to bring the number of teams up to six.
The Pearson Cup was an annual midseason Major League Baseball rivalry between former Canadian rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos. Named after former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, it was originally created to raise money for minor league baseball in Canada. In later years, it was incorporated into the interleague baseball schedule.
The Australian national baseball team represents Australia in international baseball tournaments and competitions. They are ranked as the top team in Oceania, and are the Oceanian Champions, having been awarded the title in 2007 when New Zealand withdrew from the Oceania Baseball Championship. After achieving a last (16th) place in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, their ranked dropped to 13, which is the lowest rank Australia ever got. The highest rank they have achieved is their current rank of 7th.
The Honkbal Hoofdklasse is the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. It is an eight-team league that plays a 42-game schedule and is overseen by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation (KNBSB).
Professional sports leagues are organized in numerous ways. The two most significant types are one that developed in Europe, characterised by a tiered structure using promotion and relegation to determine participation in a hierarchy of leagues or divisions, and a North American originated model characterized by its use of "franchises," closed memberships, and minor leagues. Both these systems remain most common in their area of origin, although both systems are used worldwide.
The 2009 Baseball World Cup was an international baseball tournament that started on 9 September 2009. The final was held in Nettuno, Italy on 27 September 2009. It was the 38th time the World Cup took place, and the first time that it was hosted by a continent rather than a single country. Eight European countries hosted the tournament and 22 nations competed, including defending champions the United States.
The Croatia national baseball team is the national baseball team of Croatia. As of the beginning of 2013 in the IBAF World Rankings, they were the 7th-best team in Europe and the 31st men's baseball team overall. The team is controlled by the Croatian Baseball Association, which is represented in the Confederation of European Baseball. Croatia hosted one of the four pools during the first stage of play in the 2009 Baseball World Cup. The Official IBAF 2014 End-of-the-Year World Rankings put Croatia 43rd in the world. Croatia joined the Confederation of European Baseball in 1992.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's association football championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It is scheduled to take place in Qatar in 2022. This will be the first World Cup ever to be held in the Arab world and the first in a Muslim-majority country. This will be the second World Cup held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. In addition, the tournament will be the last to involve 32 teams, with an increase to 48 teams scheduled for the 2026 tournament. The reigning World Cup champions are France.
The "Final Four" is a post-season baseball tournament sanctioned and created by the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB). The tournament features the four best teams in the two European Cups. The champion later represents Europe in the Asia Series.
The Australia national baseball team has participated in nine of the International Baseball Federation World Cup tournaments. Australia has made it to the quarter finals of a tournament three times—1998, 2007 and 2009— and its best result was in the most recent tournament held in 2009, in which Australia placed 5th.
The 2010 European Cup was an international baseball competition among the top teams of the professional baseball leagues in Europe, held in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands from June 1 to 6, 2010.
The 2011 Baseball World Cup was an international baseball tournament held from October 1 to October 15, 2011. It was the 39th and final Baseball World Cup. The International Baseball Federation selected Panama to host the tournament, turning down bids from Chinese Taipei and Venezuela. The Netherlands defeated Cuba 2–1 to win their first World Cup title, and the first by a European nation since the inaugural event in 1938 won by Great Britain.
The Honkbal Rookie League is a professional baseball league in the Netherlands for rookies from the teams in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. It is an eight-team league that plays a 42-game schedule. The season runs from April to September and is not followed by a promotion and relegation system.
The Honkbal Overgangsklasse is the second highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. It is a twelve-team league that plays a 22-game schedule followed by two separate 15-game schedules for the best six teams and the weakest six teams, and is overseen by the KNBSB. Games are played principally on weekends. The season runs from April to August and is followed by a promotion and relegation system with the highest level of baseball in the Netherlands, the Honkbal Hoofdklasse, so that the composition of the top level may change from year to year.
Qualification for the 2018 Little League World Series took place in eight United States regions and eight international regions from June through August 2018.
Qualification for the 2019 Little League World Series took place in eight United States regions and eight international regions from June through August 2019.
