The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league composed of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world. Each NFL season begins annually with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season, which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference, including the four division winners and three wild card teams, advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament, which culminates in the Super Bowl, played in early February between the winners of the AFC and NFC championship games.
The Women's Professional Basketball League was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league was the first professional women's basketball league in the United States.
A draft is a process used in some countries and sports to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team selects a player, the team receives exclusive rights to sign that player to a contract, and no other team in the league may sign the player. The process is similar to round-robin item allocation.
Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion. The WPS was the highest level in the United States soccer pyramid for the women's game.
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football franchise based in the Washington metropolitan area. They are members of the East division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The Commanders were founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves, named after the local baseball franchise. The franchise changed its name the following year to the Redskins and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1937. In 2020, the team retired the Redskins name after longstanding controversies surrounding it and briefly played as the Washington Football Team before becoming the Commanders in 2022.
The 1987 Major League Baseball draft is the process by which Major League Baseball (MLB) teams select athletes to play for their organization. High school seniors, college juniors and seniors, and anyone who had never played under a professional contract were considered eligible for the draft. The 1987 MLB Draft took place as a conference call to the Commissioner of Baseball's office in New York from June 2–4. As opposed to the National Football League Draft which appeared on ESPN, no network aired the MLB Draft.
Christopher S. "Cito" Culver is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft.
Brandon J. Laird, nicknamed "Sushi Boy", is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He has played for the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB), and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Robert Charles Ross Jr. is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox.
The 2014 Hero Indian Super League was the first season of the Indian Super League, the top flight football league of India. The season featured eight teams, each playing 14 matches during the regular season.
The 2014 season was the first ever season in Kerala Blasters Football Club's existence after its establishment in May 2014, as well as their first season in the inaugural season of Indian Super League. The club managed to secure qualification for the Indian Super League finals on 9 December 2014, after finishing the regular season in fourth position. They managed to make it to the final, but were defeated by Atlético de Kolkata through a stoppage time goal.
The 2014 International Premier Tennis League season is the inaugural season of the professional team tennis league contested by four teams in Asia.
Alzarri Shaheim Joseph is an Antiguan cricketer who plays for the West Indies in Tests and ODIs. A right-arm fast bowler, he plays for Leeward Islands and the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in West Indian domestic cricket. He also played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League. In 2016, Joseph was named Antigua and Barbuda Sportsman of the Year award. During his under-19 career, Joseph helped the West Indies win the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
Pro Volleyball League (PVL) was a professional men's indoor volleyball league in India. The inaugural season took place in February 2019. The league was an initiative between the Volleyball Federation of India, Head Digital Works Pvt. Ltd. and Baseline Ventures. The inaugural season of the league was won by Chennai Spartans. Later in the year 2022 the league was rebranded as Prime Volleyball League.
Major League Cricket (MLC), also known as Cognizant MLC for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league based in the United States. Operated by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) and sanctioned by USA Cricket, it began play on July 13, 2023, with six teams representing major US cities under a single-entity model. The first season took place over three weeks at Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, concluding on July 30, 2023. In 2021, the development league for MLC, Minor League Cricket (MiLC), completed its inaugural season, which was contested by 27 franchise-based teams.
The USL Super League (USLS) is a professional women's soccer league in the highest level of the United States league system, alongside the National Women's Soccer League. Organized by the United Soccer League (USL), it operates as its premier league for women above the pre-professional USL W League.
The Pittsburgh Maulers were a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but played their home games in Canton, Ohio. The Maulers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) North division.
Prime Volleyball League, also known as RuPay Prime Volleyball League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional men's indoor volleyball league in India. The inaugural season took place in February 2022. The league is an initiative of Baseline Ventures with no involvement from Volleyball Federation of India and a rechristened version of the Pro Volleyball League which was held in February 2019. Sony Pictures Networks India is the official broadcaster of the league. RuPay is the title sponsor of the league and signed the contract for three years.
Baseball United is a professional baseball organization in the Middle East and South Asia. It began with two showcase games in Dubai in November 2023. The league's first season with five teams representing cities in India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates is scheduled to start in 2025.
