1. In 2003, the International Olympic Committee voted that Vancouver had won the bidding process and would be rewarded with the opportunity to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. In second place in the voting for those Olympics was the city of Pyeong Chang in South Korea, and Salzburg, Austria came in third place.

2. The opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics were the first Olympic opening ceremonies, summer or winter, to ever be held indoors.

3. The venue hosting Olympic Ice Hockey events is named Canada Hockey Place. Before and after the Olympics, this building hosts Vancouver Canucks NHL hockey games and is known by the name of GM Place. This name change occurred because Olympic rules state that corporate sponsorship is not allowed.

4. The Olympic medals and mascot of the 2010 Winter Olympics were designed by Leo Obstbaum. Obstbaum was born in Argentina and then grew up in Spain, before moving to Vancouver in 2005. He died unexpectedly in 2009 at the age of 39, less than six months before the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics of which he played such a visible and important role.

5. The first video game to be officially licensed by the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver was Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. It became available for the Wii and Nintendo DS in late October of 2009.

6. The Olympic Torch set a record for the longest route within one country when it traveled more than 45,000 kilometers (27,900 miles) inside the nation of Canada before reaching Vancouver in time for the opening ceremonies.

7. Seven countries sent teams to the Winter Olympics for the first time ever in 2010, they are: The Cayman Islands, Columbia, Ghana, Montenegro, Pakistan, Peru, and Serbia.

1. The first American team to play for the Stanley Cup was the Portland Rosebuds of the PCHA, the first American team to win the Stanley Cup was the PCHA’s Seattle Metropolitans.

2. The Stanley Cup was originally known as he Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup.

3. Lord Stanley not only never presented the Cup to a championship hockey team, but because of having to unexpectedly return to England earlier than planned he never had a chance to see a Stanley Cup championship game.

4. The Kenora Thistles won the Stanley Cup in 1907, with a population of roughly 4,000 at the time, this is the smallest community to ever win he Cup.

5. Due to labor issues, no Stanley Cup was played for or awarded in 2005. This was the first year with no Stanley Cub champion since the great flu pandemic of 1919.

6. Jean Beliveau’s name appears on the Stanley Cup more times than anyone else. He won the Stanley Cup as a player on ten different occasions, he then was part of seven Stanley Cup championships as a member of management.

7. The first woman to have her name engraved on the Stanley Cup was Marguerite Norris who was President of the Detroit Red Wings when they won the Cup in 1954 and 1955.

The Stanley Cup is one of the most sought after and famous awards in sports. The unique start that the Cup had as a challenge trophy that was not confined to only being won by National Hockey League teams is unlike the championship trophy awarded in any other major sport. The Stanley Cup is one of the few trophies that fans of the sport have that much knowledge and respect for, and there is obviously a reason for that.

1. Though the Broncos’ first season in the league was 1960, they would not experience their first winning year until 1973.

2. The Denver Broncos were the only original AFL team to have not played in an AFL Championship Game.

3. The original Broncos uniforms included mustard yellow jerseys, brown pants, and verticaly striped socks. These were so hated by fans that two years later when the team changed their uniforms there was a public bonfire featuring the burning of the socks.

4. The first two former Denver Broncos to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame were more closely associated with other franchises; Willie Brown with the Raiders and Tony Dorsett with the Cowboys.

5. The original starting quarterback for the Broncos in their first year of play in 1960 was Frank Tripucka. Tripucka had an interesting career in that before playing for the Broncos he had pro football head coaching experience in the Canadian Football League.

6. In the Broncos first twenty one years in pro football they went through eight different head coaches, in the twenty eight seasons from 1981-2008 they only went through three.

7. In a 1983 game against the Seattle Seahawks, legendary Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar had one of the statistically best all around games of his career when he recorded an interception, a fumble recover, a sack and a tackle for a loss.

When it comes to teams that began in the AFL and have made the transition to the NFL, few can measure up to the success that the Broncos have had. This is really interesting in the fact that while in the AFL, they were one of the least successful teams in the league. The Broncos strength is in their fans and the stability of their coaching staff, and that shouldn’t be changing any time soon.

1. Having been established in 1883, no other team in American professional sports has existed continuously in one city, with one name as long as the Philadelphia Phillies.

2. Between 1918 and 1948, the Philadelphia Phillies only had one winning season.

3. In the late 1940s, team owner Bob Carpenter Jr. tried to change the image of the team by unofficially changing the team name to Blue Jays, the new name was not received well by fans and an official change was never made.

4. When the Phillies won the World Series in 1980, third baseman Mike Schmidt was both the regular season MVP as well as the World Series MVP.

5. 1992 would see the Phillies finish last in the National League East division, the very next year they would come three games short of winning 100 games and make it all the way to the World Series before being sent home by the Toronto Blue Jays.

6. Three Philadelphia Phillies have hit four home runs in one game: Ed Delahanty in 1896, Chuck Klein in 1936, and Mike Schmidt in 1976. Only fifteen players in Major League Baseball history have accomplished this feat.

7. In 1994, the Phillies briefly experimented with wearing blue hats for home day games only, these were dropped from use less than a month later.

The Philadelphia Phillies, due mainly to their longevity as a Major League Baseball franchise, have a wealth of history to examine. The team is on top of the world right now having just recently won the 2008 World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays. Phillies fans every where will hope their team stays at or near the top of the standings for quite some time.

1. The 1932 Summer Olympics was the first Olympics where the head of the host nation did not appear at the games. Herbert Hoover was the President of the United States during this time and he chose not to travel to Los Angeles where the games were being held.

2. The 1932 Summer Olympics were the first Olympic Games where an Olympic Village had been built to house the athletes.

3. The 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles were the first Olympics where a victory podium was used for the medal presentations.

4. The USA won a bronze medal in field hockey in the 1932 Summer Olympics, this was mainly due to the fact that only three countries competed in the sport that year.

5. Japan’s Takeichi Nishi would win the gold medal in the equestrian event, individual show jumping. This would be the only equestrian gold medal that Japan would ever win. Nishi would go on to fight for Japan in World War II and die defending Iwo Jima.

6. American football was a demonstration sport at the 1932 Summer Olympics.

7. The USA finished first in the medal count with 103 different medals won during the 1932 Summer Olympics, Italy finished second with 36 and Finland was third with 25.

The 1932 Summer Olympics were an important event during their time and affected more than just the sporting world. The entire world focused on Los Angeles during those summer days in the early part of the last century, and people were not disappointed as some great drama unfolded both inside and outside of the main coliseum. The Summer Olympics have the ability to capture the imagination and wonder of the entire world’s population every four years. It is no wonder that they are some of the most watched events in recent world history.

1. During the strike shortened 1982 NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers finished with a 3-6 record. Interestingly, the team won three of its four road games and lost all five of their home games.

2. The San Francisco 49ers posted double digit victory totals in every season from 1983 through 1998, a total of sixteen seasons.

3. Though the San Francisco 49ers are one of the best teams to ever play in the National Football League, they didn’t originally start out as an NFL team. The organization was a founding member of the All American Football Conference along with fellow future NFL franchise, the Cleveland Browns.

4. During a 1957 game against the Chicago Bears, onetime San Francisco 49ers owner Tony Morabito collapsed and died of a heart attack. The team, after being notified during halftime of their owner’s passing, would rebound from a 17-7 deficit to win the game 21-17.

5. Though thought of as one of the more successful teams in NFL history, the San Francisco 49ers did not win a division title until 1970 and would not win their first NFL Championship until the 1980s. During the decade of the 1980s though, the team would go on to win four Super Bowl titles, cementing itself as one of the greatest teams in league history.

6. The original coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Buck Shaw, coached the team from their inception in 1946 through the 1954 season. During his tenure and even though it was a brand new franchise, Shaw and the 49ers only had one season where there win-loss record was below .500.

7. The 1980s San Francisco 49ers teams were built largely through the successful drafting of college players. In 1979, the team drafted both Joe Montana and Dwight Clark (in the tenth round incidentally). In 1981, the 49ers would add both Ronnie Lott and Eric Wright to their defensive backfield. The 1982 and 1983 NFL Drafts would see Bubba Paris, Roger Craig, Riki Ellison, and Jesse Sapolu added to the team. 1984 would bring Guy McIntyre, Michael Carter, and Jeff Fuller to the team. And after adding future legend Jerry Rice to the team in the 1985 draft, the 49ers would gain the services of Tom Rathman, Tim McKyer, John Taylor, Charles Haley, Steve Wallace, and Don Griffin in the 1986 NFL Draft.

The 49ers popularity remains incredibly high, even in times when the team is not as successful on the field as it once was. With the track record the franchise has, fans always feel that the team is just one or two personnel moves away from rejoining the best teams in the league, a place they feel their team always deserves to be. The San Francisco 49ers truly are one of the best teams in National Football League history.

1. First played professional hockey in the now defunct World Hockey Association (WHA) before he entered the National Hockey League.

2. After his first season in the NHL, Wayne Gretzky did not win the Calder Memorial Trophy that is awarded to the NHL’s top rookie player because of his one year of experience in the WHA. Instead the award was won by Boston Bruins defenseman Ray Bourque.

3. When Wayne Gretzky played for the New York Rangers, it was the only time during his NHL career that he was not the team captain.

4. When the Edmonton Oilers traded Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings, the trade included 15 million dollars in cash and three first round draft picks going back to the Oilers.

5. When Wayne Gretzky requested a trade during the 1996 season, the two teams most interested were the New York Rangers and the St. Louis Blues. The trade would eventually be carried out with the Blues. After a half season in St. Louis, Gretzky would then sign with the Rangers.

6. Early in Wayne Gretzky’s career he broke the long standing “50 goals in 50 games” record that had been held by Maurice “The Rocket” Richard and Mike Bossy. Gretzky scored his 50 goals in the first 39 games of the season.

7. Wayne Gretzky’s name appears on the Grey Cup that is awarded to the champion of the Canadian Football League. He was a part owner of the Toronto Argonauts in the early 1990′s when they won the championship.

Wayne Gretzky is not only one of the most famous hockey players in the world, but one of the most famous professional athletes. He has successfully made the transition from hockey player to front office to head coach and is poised to make just as big of an impact off the ice that he made while on the ice. Wayne Gretzky will definitely go down as one of the most important professional athletes in history.

1. John Elway’s last game of college football is famous for a reason completely unrelated to him. His last game was the now famous Cal-Stanford game in which the Cal Bears returned the final kickoff of the game, with the help of five laterals, for the winning touchdown.

2. John and Janet Elway have four children and their names also start with the letter “J”. Their names are Jessica, Jordan and Juliana, and Jack.

3. In his one season of minor league baseball in 1982, John Elway batted .318 and led the team in RBI.

4. At the age of 38, John Elway became the oldest player to score a touchdown in a Super Bowl.

5. There are two number sevens that have been inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame, John Elway and also the quarterback that preceded him, Craig Morton.

6. During his son’s senior year of high school, John Elway served as his and his team’s quarterback coach.

7. John Elway was the number one overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts who later famously traded him to the Broncos after he threatened not to play for them. The players he was traded for were Quarterback Mark Herrmann, Offensive Lineman Chris Hinton, and a first round draft pick that ended up being Offensive Lineman Ron Solt.

John Elway will go down in history as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. He will be remembered fondly, and not just in Denver, as football fans in many cities took a liking to him based on his hard nosed play and successful results.

1. The first Monday Night Football game happened in 1970 and had the Cleveland Browns defeating the New York Jets.

2. There has only been one tie game in Monday Night Football history, it happened in 1984 and was between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Giants.

3. The fewest points ever scored in a Monday Night Football game in history happened in 2007 when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Miami Dolphins by a score of 3-0.

4. The team holding the record for the most shutouts in Monday Night Football history is the Seattle Seahawks who have shutout their opponents five times.

5. The news that John Lennon had been murdered was broken to the nation by Monday Night Football announcer Howard Cosell during a football game in 1980.

6. The first female broadcaster to join the Monday Night Football broadcast team was Lesley Visser who became a sideline reporter in 1998.

7. The first sponsor that Monday Night Football had was Marlboro Cigarettes.

Monday Night Football has recently moved to the ESPN network after a very long run on ABC. Many people questioned the decision to put professional football on television during primetime on a weekday, but the decision really paid off and will continue to do so.