Scrums and mauls are the two great dominance contests within the game of rugby. Marked superiority in either of these forms of engagement can affect the morale of both teams in a way that a corresponding supremacy at say the lineout does not.

Soccer is perhaps the world's favorite spectator sport, popularly known as "Football" in Britain and other European countries. This game can be as frustrating as golf, as physical as football and hockey, as erratic as baseball, and as exciting as basketball. No simple word can describe the popularity of the game, with a global television audience of 49 billion people for the 2002 World Cup alone. The game is exciting and highly addictive to watch and play.

The NHL decided to go retro this year. Thats right. Its not so much that they instituted new rules; rather they went back to some old ones. The hoped for result has happened--scoring is up 24% from 2003-04.

This year in the NFL, where even the Wild Card teams sported a .688 winning percentage, the Kansas City Chiefs were left out of the post-season tournament after going 10-6 (.625). Major League Baseball saw the San Diego Padres win their division and earn a 2005 playoff berth with a .506 winning mark, but they were an anomaly. This season all other MLB playoff teams won 90 or more of the 162 games they played. Over the past five years 98% of the baseball teams that have been playoff bound have won 90 (.556) or more games and none have had losing records. The NBA is different.

In lacrosse, as in most sports, the World Cup is the most prestigious tournament in which to take part. It is the only occasion where all lacrosse-playing nations compete together and given the constraints of a truly amateur game, a rare opportunity to play against countries from across the globe. The tournament is played once every four years and the summer of 2005 brought it to the eastern shores of the United States of America.

Rugby players spend considerably more playing time in physical contact and contest with opponents than players in other forms of football.

NASCAR fans are known for their loyalty to the sport, their favorite drivers and each other. When the race comes to town, the streets are lined with vendors selling a wide variety of merchandise sporting the image of drivers and their cars. Something else has been seen at races in recent years, Christian groups reaching out and spreading the Word.

Each team in the NHL plays 82 regular season games, 41 games at home and 41 on the road. Teams used to play all other teams in the league at least once, but this will no longer be the case following implementation of post-lockout changes. Teams will now play 10 interconference (that is, not in their own conference) games throughout the entire season, 1 game against each team in two of the three divisions in the opposite conference. Teams will also play 40 games against non-divisional, conference opponents (4 games against each), and 32 games within their division (8 games against each).

After many trips through the rumor mill, Mark Prior accepted the Chicago Cubs offer on January 27 to a one-year, $3.65 million contract. That is $900,000 more than the salary he would have earned under the contract he voided in November. Since Prior's definitive season in 2003 (18-6), he has cooled off somewhat, and has only managed to go 17-11 over the past two seasons. The Cubs were within five outs of reaching the World Series in 2003, due, in part, to Prior's performance.

In 1973 Major League Baseball instituted three rules designed to lessen the power of pitchers and create more offense. One theory at work was that the game needed to be energized and that more hitting would create additional runs and excitement.