By Domenico Tucci & Sean O’Toole  

There are many ways to tie your tie, there are simple konts and fancy knots. Our favorite is the Windsor.  Find one that you like and learn how to tie it. After you learn it practice, practice, practice. 

1. BASEBALL

Option 3: Hall of famer, Gaylord Perry was not known for his hitting. Legend is unclear whether he or his coach said it, but in 1963 it was stated “they will put a man on the moon before Perry hits a home run”. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, the same day that Perry hit a home run while playing for San Francisco Giants.

2. BASKETBALL

Option 3: Earl "The Goat" Manigault was a famous street player. Myth has it that he could reach the top of the backboard, grab a dollar and leave coins or “make change”. There is no video evidence to support it. Several attempts to find pro ball players (including Olympic jump athletes) capable of duplicating this feat have proven unsuccessful.

3. GOLF 

Option 2: Golf balls were originally made from wood, typically beech. Later models made from leather, stuffed with hair or feathers. A “top hat” full of feathers was required for one ball. Production quotas were around 3-4 per day, making these balls expensive. They were also not very good. Contrast this with Callaway Golf Ball Company’s approach. The company, founded by former Burlington Industries textile president, Ely R. Callaway, Jr., recruited engineers from Du Pont and Boeing and used aerodynamic computer programs to evaluate more than 300 dimple patterns and more than 1,000 variations of ball cores, boundary layers, and cover materials to create Callaway’s new Rule 35 ball.

4. TEN PIN BOWLING  

Option 3: Bowling culture has formed the backdrop of many movies. Bowling Noir is a sub theme of Noir movies ranging from old classics with Marlon Brando through to the more recent films, The Big Lebowski and Kingpin. During the opening scene of the Coen Brothers’ cult classic, Big Lebowski, the camera moves back to show several bowlers release at the foul line. One bowler rolls a translucent bowling ball. This is a gaff. The ball, an Ebonite Clear Wolf, was not released until the mid 1990s, well after the events of the movie took place (1991).

5. AMERICAN FOOTBALL 

Option 2: The origin of the word “touchdown” derives from the game of rugby where the players must touch the ball down to score. This is not a requirement in American Football. Ironically, a “touchdown” in rugby is called a “try”. (American footballs are also laced, rugby balls not.) Another word lost in translation is “pigskin” referring literally to the pigs bladder originally used. Today’s balls are generally made from vulcanized rubber, a process patented by American Charles Goodyear. The ball is filled with filled with 12 1/2 to 13 1/2 pounds of air.

6. VOLLEYBALL 

Option 2: Volleyball originated in America but the game was quickly exported. In one bizarre example of cross-cultural disconnect, after crossing the Atlantic to France, it became the principal sport at French nudist camp. This variant in turn made it’s way back to America (see www.nudistvolleyball.com) where it is quite popular, as far as naked sports go. Players take the game very seriously. Experienced volleyballers often commenting on hand positions of other players… Leather balls are preferred to Rubber.

7. TENNIS 

Option 1: Only two players, one from each gender, have achieved the golden grand slam – that is, winning all 4 grand slams and winning Olympic gold. They are Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi, the latter born in Las Vegas where the couple currently reside. The Penn Championship XD is America’s number one selling ball and is endorsed by Agassi; it sells for $0.81 for a pack of four balls. A pair of balls autographed by the couple costs nearly $500. Their combined prize money is over $50 million. The Andre Agassi Foundation for under served or at-risk youth has raised over $60 million.

8. SOCCER 

Option 2: Adelino William (“Billy”) Gonsalves’ career lasted 25 years. Legend has it that he was never once cautioned for rough play or poor conduct. He is also known as the “Babe Ruth of soccer”. He was part of the inaugural Soccer Hall of Fame class. He played for the US in the first FIFA world cup in 1930.

9. HOCKEY 

Option 2: Joseph Mullen was born “Hells Kitchen” in New York. He is one of only eight Americans to make the Hall of Fame. A member of three Stanley Cup teams, he learned to play on roller skates with electrical tape as a puck. Young players use a blue 4 oz puck. Regulation is 6 oz. Players also use special training pucks for strengthening exercises such as 2 pound steel pucks. NHL regulation pucks were not required for professional play until the 1990–91 season.