The NSSA isn't just any amateur surfing club; this organization emphasizes academic and athletic skills. The site provides details on NSSA members and activities, listings for its five geographic "conferences," competitions and winners, ratings, and schedules of its many surfing and body boarding competitions. You can also check out profiles and interviews with a selection of members, which will give you a feel for what NSSA is all about. A must-see for anyone who goes to school and surfs. - Dorrit Tulane Walsh
In 1989, the ribbon was cut to celebrate the opening of the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y. The following year, Muhammad Ali and other boxing greats were on hand to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Now, the expanding museum is open on the Web for all to browse. Take a brief tour through the museum, browse a list of the World Champion lineage, and keep tabs on rankings and fight schedules. While there's plenty of room to expand, the IBHF, both virtual and physical, is still an impressive endeavor that grew from a small town honoring two of its own-"former welterweight and middleweight champion of the late-1950s, Carmen Basilio, and his nephew, Billy Backus, who won the world welterweight title in 1970." - David Pescovitz
Yes, the "mud, mud, mud" folks have their own association-and what anintriguing sport tractor pulling is. Learn about the levels of competition-from state to grand national-and glean insight into the minds of your favorite drivers, including Scott Tedder, whose pulling vehicle is known affectionately as Mr. Twister. Scott talks about life in the fast lane: "I became a puller in the MOD division because: it gives the biggest thrill.... My crew consists of: My dad, Jack, my mom, Diane, and God is my crew chief.... My favorite TV show is: "Baywatch," with all those pretty girls." Right on, Scott. And of course, the association offers plenty of photos for you to enjoy the action even when you're far from the track. - David Pescovitz
"Our mission is to win the America's Cup with American technology, American talent, and an American commitment to excellence." How ... patriotic! The America's Cup is the most prestigious trophy in sailboat racing, and AmericaOne is a non-profit sponsor of a team determined to win the Cup under skipper Paul Cayard. Explore the site for news about the AmericaOne team, as well as news about America's Cup preparation and sailboat racing in general. If you're into sailing as a sport, AmericaOne is a good place to get geared up for the Cup. - David Pescovitz
The seven SportsChannel sites provide information on regional sports teams and games airing on the cable network. For example, SportsChannel Pacific "provides live coverage of nearly 200 games featuring Bay Area teams, including 55 games of the San Francisco Giants, 55 Oakland A's games, 40 Golden State Warriors games, and 25 games of the San Jose Sharks." The channel also covers Stanford, Cal, and other college teams. If that's not enough, the SportsChannel Pacific site offers stats and news about the teams in the region, editorials such as the Jim Poole Journal (he's an SF Giant), and schedules so you know when to turn on the tube. An excellent source for spectators of regional sports. - David Pescovitz
Are you a fan of the Barcelona Dragons? How about the Frankfurt Galaxy? TheWorld League is a joint venture between the National Football League and FOX. "The World League, the NFL's spring league," pits a handful of teams from other nations against each other on gridirons across the globe. But understand, the London Monarchs may be staffed by more Yankees than Brits: "Each WL team must include seven non-American 'national' players." Check this site for stories about the league, schedules of games, and stats on the players. Then tune in to FX on cable TV to watch the contests. - David Pescovitz
More than any other sport, baseball fans seem to have an almost sentimental love for the game. These fans will undoubtedly appreciate the intent behind Brian Reich's Great American Baseball Trip Web site, which chronicles Reich's road trip to visit every major league baseball stadium in the country. Reich is quite the obsessed fan; he'd have to be to want to do a comparison of the hot dogs at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium. The site features a detailed description of each game Reich attends, including pre-game conversations with team management, photos, and highlights. Brian's youthful enthusiasm is contagious, but I recommend this site to rabid baseball fans only. - Rachel Saidman
"UK's greatest sports Internet site," Sporting Life covers all the Brits' favorite sports: soccer, rugby, horses, cricket, and boxing (don't they have a whole day devoted to boxing in England?). Expatriates in particular will appreciate access to the latest information on their favorite teams and sports-especially sincethese sports aren't covered in great detail in the media outside of England. Articles are indexed by subject and feature an abstract from which you can choose to view more or move on. A nice resource for anglophiles and sports nuts alike. - Rachel Saidman
Racing fans will find lots to see and do at the Indy Racing League, an umbrella site comprised of mini-sites that all use their own categories and navigational structures. While this makes for difficult browsing-the developers might consider putting in a search engine or site map-it's fun to wander around and just see what each of these separate sites has to offer. The Indy Racing League front page is indexed by race-the Indy 500, the Phoenix 200, and so on-and each mini-site details the history, racetrack, drivers, and cars from that race. You can also buy Indy Racing League clothing and play a Shockwave driving game. - Rachel Saidman
Site of the month!!
As far as mountain biking goes, riders love to hear about killer single track, gnarly crashes, and the latest piece of equipment that will make their bike lighter and faster than the next person's. And as far as Web sites about mountain biking go, iBike leads the pack. Part of the Interzine family, iBike's crowded but informative site gives both the experienced and the want-to-be-experienced rider what they want and more.The quick-changing graphic of a rider blazing downhill in the top left-hand corner of the home page got my adrenaline pumping for some great graphics. I was disappointed; except for a few still pictures on some pages and audio and video downloads in the gallery section, the biker graphic is the only attention-grabbing image on the text-heavy site. This lack plus story teasers underneath headlines such as Continental's Next Generation Tires and Grundig World Cup Update might initially make you think the site's a boring old dud. It's quite the opposite-features such as Wipe O' the Week and How NOT To Become a Search-and-Rescue Victim key you in to iBike's fun, laid-back style, and amusing stories let readers know that iBike's writers and producers are adrenaline junkies just like them. In the male-dominated sport of mountain biking, iBike also makes room for women with ride reviews by a woman athlete and author. Her presence, albeit small, encourages men to share the trails and women to get on their bikes.Once you get past the typical Web site amenities-sign-up page, store, bulletin boards, and chat rooms-the site offers riders a lot of original, useful information. From Pro-Tips, events calendars, contests, and occasional horoscopes in the Fresh Trails section to a 10-item table of contents that looks like a trail map, iBike has something for every kind of rider. Up-to-the-hour weather reports from across North America; the latest news affecting mountain bikers, sponsors, and festivals; standings from professional and amateur races; and easy-to-use directories including a microbrewery guide and reviews of popular rides make up for the site's lack of jazzy photos.But the best thing about iBike is its utility. The site doesn't just talk about how riders can improve; it shows them how to build a better bike with the home repair and tuning shop in the mechanics section, and gives them specific workout regimens in the training section. With all this information, riders come away from the site amped to find fresh single track and killer drop-offs. - Rebecca Tollen