This year, March Madness drew its best TV ratings in more than three decades and more than 39 million publicly available brackets were filled out. It is clear that NCAA basketball is embedded in American culture. Multiple factors come into play to create the perfect scenario. Here is Ohio University's analysis of the confluence and its impact.

Sovereignty, who took the Kentucky Derby in a thrilling finish, won't be running in the Preakness, but will be seen at the Belmont Stakes. That trips up the Triple Crown for this year. How will it impact the rest of the races, and what are some of the emerging storylines that we can expect to see? Here's the inside track from the railbirds.

Marathons (and large events like running festivals that offer various distances) can be great for a city's economy, generating foot traffic to businesses, meals in restaurants and hotel room nights, not to mention overtime pay for workers in sectors like security. Here are some of the best and most successful marathons in the U.S. - and the reasons.

In the mid-1800s, Black cowboys accounted for about one-quarter of all cowboys who were part of the ranching movement in the American West, but in mainstream narratives, their contribution to history often is overlooked. But one of this aspect of cowboy culture's lasting narratives is the resurgence of Black rodeos, now inspiring future generations.

What happens when robots go up against one another, as well as against human athletes, on the field of play? Well, for one thing, we learn that technology has a long way to go. In a recent race in the Robolympics held in China, one robotic athlete simply lay down on the race course. Another collapsed, sending engineers running to the start line. Yikes.

Bicycle commuting is not exactly picking up the pace; fewer than 1% of the American workforce did so, as of 2022. However, the makers of a free new navigation app designed for the casual rider hope to change that. It folds into the ambitious mission of doubling everyday bike rides in the United States ahead of the "car-free" 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.