Teamsports in the US

Sports is an important part of American culture. Baseball, American football, basketball and ice hockey are the four most popular team sports in America.

Sports are particularly associated with education in the United States, with most high schools and universities having organized sports. College sports competitions play an important role in the American sporting culture. In many cases college athletics are more popular than professional sports.

American footballA team sport known for mixing strategy with physical play with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. AF can be traced to early versions of association football and rugby football.

high school football college football professional football

BaseballBaseball is is a bat-and-ball team sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases.

Major League Baseball (MLB) has 162-game schedule (from April till October).

Basketball

Basketball was invented in 1891 by Canadian-born physical education teacher.

Like American football, basketball at both the college and high school levels is quite popular throughout the country. Every March, a 68-team, six-round, single-elimination tournament determines the national champions of NCAA Division I men's college basketball.

Most U.S. states also crown state champions among their high schools. Also like American football, many high school basketball teams have intense local followings, especially in the Midwest and Upper South.

Ice Hockey

Originating from Canada, the sport is commonly referred to simply as "hockey." In the U.S. the game is most popular in regions with a cold winter climate, but since the 1990's hockey has become increasingly popular in the Sun Belt.

Soccer

It has gained an increasing following in recent years, and is extremely popular as a children's sport. The United States men's and women's senior national teams, as well as a number of age-grade teams for both sexes, represent the United States in international soccer competitions and are controlled by the United States Soccer Federation.

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin. Not a very popular sport nationwide, but quite popular in mid-Atlantic and New England.

The objective of the game is to score by shooting the ball into an opponent's goal, using the lacrosse stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball. 

Sources of information

http://www.answers.com/topic/american-football

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0875085.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_sport