Team sports, such as baseball, basketball, hockey, and football, are
sports where players work together toward the common objective of winning
a game.
A sports team name usually includes the name of its sponsoring organization
or host location plus one or two additional words that combine to uniquely
identify the name of the team.
Professional Sports Leagues
The four major professional sports leagues in North America are Major
League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National
Football League, and the National Hockey League. Each league
operates a number of team franchises in major cities and metropolitan
areas around the United States and Canada.
Baseball
Dubbed "America's Favorite Pastime," Major League Baseball has been
around since the 1800s. And it has come a long way since the
Cincinnati Red Stockings came on the scene as the first professional
team in 1869. Today, there are a total of 30 teams in Major League
Baseball — 14 in the American League and 16 in the National League
— that draw legions of fans throughout the United States.
The baseball season begins in April, and culminates in October with the
World Series, which is the playoffs between the American League Champion
and National League Champion. While many rivalries have existed
throughout the years, perhaps the best-known rivalry is that between
the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
Basketball
Basketball was invented by James Naismith in 1891, at a Massachusetts
school gymnasium, and by the 1920s hundreds of local teams had sprung up
in cities and towns throughout America. In 1946 what is now known
as the NBA (it was initially named the Basketball Association of America,
and officially changed its name to National Basketball Association in
1949) was formed. The first official NBA game, between the Toronto
Huskies and the New York Knickerbockers, was played in Toronto.
Today the NBA has 30 teams, most of which have a strong fan base.
The NBA caters to its fans by having a great web site that details players
and their statistics, as well as game schedules.
Football
Every September, football fans settle in for a great season, often picking
their favorite team and wagering with friends which team will make it
to — and win — the Superbowl. Football, which has been
around since the late 1800s, is a relative to rugby. The National
Football League, which has been around since the early 1920s, is today
made up of 32 teams. The league is made up of two conferences, each
of which is divided into four divisions. If you are good at math,
you'll realize that each division has four teams. Football season
ends in late January or early February with the Super Bowl, in which the
two best teams in the NFL are pitted against one another. The Super
Bowl draws the most spectators of any professional sports championship,
and many people watch to see the innovative commercials and entertaining
half-time show in addition to some good football.
Hockey
While professional hockey was first introduced in the early 1900s in
Canada, it wasn't long before the sport came to America. The first
team that played — the Boston Bruins — came on the scene in
1924. While the Bruins still draw lots of fans, 29 other American
teams join them today. The teams are divided into two conferences,
and the best team from each conference faces each other in the
well-attended Stanley Cup playoffs.
TeamNames.us features convenient access to professional sports league
and sports team websites as well as online stores offering a broad
selection of licensed sports merchandise. Browse our site to find
the pro sports team names plus news and information about each of the
professional baseball, basketball, football, and hockey teams.
MLB is a registered trademark of Major League Baseball.
"NBA" is the property of NBA Properties, Inc.
NFL is a registered trademark of the National Football League.
NHL is a registered trademark of the National Hockey League.