Only 72 players in NBA history have attempted more free throws in their careers than the 5,317 Shaquille O’Neal missed.

For some reason, over half of the NBA’s ex-players (60%) are flat broke and bankrupt after only five years out of the league.

The Houston Rockets did not discover until the 14th game of the 1984–85 NBA season that their home arena rims were set at 9-feet, 7-inches.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island.

About 42,000 tennis balls are used in the plus-minus 650 matches in the Wimbledon championship.

Studies show high school tennis players score significantly lower on math tests, it is assumed because of the sport\’s illogical 15–30–40 scoring system.

Only two games in All Star history have ended in ties. The first, in 1961, occurred when the game was halted in the 9th because of rain. Then in 2002, the game was called when both teams ran out of pitchers in the 11th inning and Commissioner Bud Selig called the game.

The only All Star Game to be cancelled was in 1945, because of severe wartime travel restrictions.

Major League Baseball umpires are required to wear black underwear while on the job in case they split their pants.

The almighty Maracanã ground in Rio de Janeiro has a concrete moat around the pitch, built to keep fans from invading the pitch

The first club to win the European – South American Intercontinental Cup in 1960 was Real Madrid of Spain when they beat Peñarol of Uruguay over two legs. The competition ran until 2004, when it was replaced with FIFA’s Club World Cup.

The Soviet Union (USSR) won the first European Football Championships in 1960.

The Phillippines has competed in the most summer Olympics (20) without winning a gold medal.

Tug of war was an Olympic event between 1900 and 1920.

Speed skater Bonnie Blair has won six medals at the Olympic Winter Games. That's more than any other American athlete.

The front suspension of a Formula 1 car is so strong that it can withstand two tonnes of pressure. That means that those carbon fibre rods that connect the wheels to the main body could have an adult bull on top of them without breaking.

F1 - The chassis – the car’s main structure – is incredibly strong, being made from over a thousand different parts of Kevlar, carbon fibre, metal and various honeycomb structures.

A Formula One car has more than 0.6 miles (1 km) of cable in its bodywork.

Canada is widely considered to be the birthplace of hockey. The Hockey Hall of Fame is in Toronto, Canada. There is also a U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame for the players, coaches, etc. who are American born.

Hockey was introduced in Sweden in 1920 by American film director and hockey coach Raoul Le Mat.

The original Stanley Cup was just seven inches high. The names of every player from each winning team is engraved on the base of the Cup. The cup and base now stands 35 inches high.

The NFL Pro Bowl, has been played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii since 1980.

The Grey Cup, the super bowl of the Canadian Football League, is given to the champion of the Canadian Football League.

The NCAA required college football players to study during halftime until 1925.

Roger Bannister held the world record in the mile for exactly 46 days.

In 1932, American Mildred "Babe" Didriksen won medals in high jumping (silver), 80m hurdles (gold) and the javelin (gold). She is the only athlete to ever medal in all three events.

The marathon was originally conceived as a race for the 1896 Olympics in Athens, commemorating the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield at the site of the town of Marathon.

Michael Jordan won the NBA’s MVP award 5 times during his career (1987/88, 1990/91, 1991/92, 1995/96, and 1997/98). He also won Rookie of the year (1984/85) and was an all-star 14 times.

At college Mark Spitz was known by his teammates as "Mark the Shark".

When Ian Thorpe first started swimming as a young boy he had an allergy to chlorine which meant he had to keep his head above the water as he swam.

In a career that spanned 1973 to 1987, Marvelous Marvin Hagler amassed a career record of 62 wins (52 by knockout), 3 losses, and 2 draws.

The first Sports Illustrated came out on August 16 1954. Pictured on the cover was the Milwaukee Braves Eddie Mathews at bat in Milwaukee County Stadium.

The first NBA All-Star Game was played in 1951 in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston Garden. The East won the game 111-94. The MVP of the game was Ed Macauley of the Boston Celtics. The winning coach was Joe Lapchick, who was the coach of the New York Knicks at the time.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, played goalie for the amateur Portsmouth association football club, which would eventually become the Portsmouth professional team that won the FA cup in 2008.

During the 1974 world cup in Munich, national teams were given BMW buses for transportation. After being eliminated, Zaire unsuccessfully tried to drive theirs back to Africa.

In the Olympics, racewalkers are mandated to have one of their two feet on the ground at all time.

MLB's rules state that if a ball becomes lodged in an umpire’s mask, all runners will advance one base.

In professional hockey, a goalie is prohibited from crossing the red line that marks center ice. Plenty of goalies have still figured out how to involve themselves in their teams’ offense, however.

The record for most marathons run on consecutive days is 365! Belgian runner Stefaan Engels, knows as the “Marathon Man” set the record in 2011, aged 49!

The record for most marathons run on consecutive days is 365! Belgian runner Stefaan Engels, knows as the “Marathon Man” set the record in 2011, aged 49!

The oldest Olympic medalist received his medal at age 83. His name was Anders Haugen and he was a ski-jumper. He competed in 1924, but because of a scoring error he did not receive his bronze medal until 1974, 50 years after he should have received it.

Hacking: lingo for the kicking a challenger's legs—could be foul worthy

Elbowing: foul worthy because of over-use of the elbows against an opponent. Rises to a game ejection if opponent is elbowed above the shoulders.

Front Tackle: defender who tries to move the ball away from a challenger by a head-on approach

The 1912 Olympics was the last time that gold medals were solid gold.

America's Cup, the trophy is named after America, the first yacht to win it in 1851 in a race around the Isle of Wight, is the oldest active trophy in sports.

The Venus Rosewater Dish is the Ladies' Singles Trophy awarded at The Championships, Wimbledon since 1886. Rosewater dishes were used in England to catch rosewater poured over the hands to wash them after eating. The award was made in 1864, and is a copy from a pewter original in the Louvre.

Major League Baseball umpires are required to wear black underwear while on the job in case they split their pants.

The first NBA All-Star Game was played in 1951 in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston Garden. The East won the game 111-94. The MVP of the game was Ed Macauley of the Boston Celtics. The winning coach was Joe Lapchick, who was the coach of the New York Knicks at the time.

The silhouette on the NBA logo is Hall of Fame Laker Jerry West.

Slazenger has provided all the tennis ball for Wimbledon tournament since 1902.

Slazenger has provided all the tennis ball for Wimbledon tournament since 1902.

In 1985, Germany's Boris Becker won the Wimbledon tournament at the young age of 17.

The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation was founded in 1923.

The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France in 1924.

The oldest Olympic medalist received his medal at age 83. His name was Anders Haugen and he was a ski-jumper. He competed in 1924, but because of a scoring error he did not receive his bronze medal until 1974, 50 years after he should have received it.

The Chicago Bulls franchise have amazingly won all six NBA Finals series in which they have played in.

Until 1936, the jump ball in basketball took place at center court after every single made basket.

Dr. James Naismith is credited with inventing the game of basketball in 1891.

Sammy Sosa has three of the eight 60-home run seasons in baseball history.

Baseballs were originally made from the foreskins of horses.

According to the official Major League Baseball rule book, baseball games “are to last 9 innings or two and one-half hours, whichever comes first.”

Sugar Ray Leonard amassed a career record of 36 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw. At various points in his career he held the NABF Welterweight title, WBC & The Ring Welterweight titles, WBA & The Ring Light Middleweight titles, WBA Welterweight, WBC and The Ring Middleweight titles, and WBC Light Heavyweight and WBC Super Middleweight titles. He retired after his third loss to Hector Camacho in 1997.

Boxing was filmed for the first time in 1894 in a match between Mike Leonard and Jack Cushing.

The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) is located in in Canastota, New York. It is within driving distance of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta.

A bit of cycling science for you: amazingly, a bicycle can stay upright without a rider as long as it’s moving at 8mph or faster.

The longest tandem bike ever built had 35 seats and was about 67 feet long!

The most expensive bike ever, a Trek Madone or the "Butterfly Bike" designed by artist Damien Hirst, was auctioned for $500,000 at Sotherby's.

Golf balls were originally made from dried cow eyeballs.

The Longest Hole in the World is the 7th hole (par 7) of the Sano Course at the Satsuki Golf Club in Japan.  It measures a long 909 yards.

The four major events in professional golf are the British Open, the Masters, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship. The four events form what is known as the Grand Slam of golf. No player has ever won all four majors in the same year.

Former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle was born with a spinal protuberance that looked like a small tail, which he kept all his life.

The Chicago Bears have the most retired numbers of any NFL team with 13.

The Philadelphia Eagles are the only NFL team with a logo that faces left.