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A coin toss is just a flip of the coin, but in recent years-especially during the NFL playoffs-it has seemingly gained heightened importance. A prime example of this is the coin toss of the Super Bowl: in the early years, only the select few captains and a single referee met at midfield in a very quick exchange. Today, however, things are drastically different, as a small village of camera crews and important individuals accompany the captains to film the result of the coin toss. Moreover, mantras about which option to choose ("tails never fails") have emerged, the coin is specially engraved for the occasion, and Las Vegas sportsbooks create a prop bet on whether the result of the coin toss will be heads or tails, indicating the grandiosity of what should be an insignificant event.

In the 2013 NBA Finals, Ray Allen hit arguably one of the most significant shots of the decade. With the rival San Antonio Spurs just seconds away from another NBA championship, Allen converted an offensive rebound into a 3 point shot to tie the game, send it to overtime and eventually secure a vital win. The Heat ended up winning the series and the championship and as a result, Ray Allen's three became one of the most memorable shots in recent history.

With 28 Olympic gold medals, 27 World Championship gold medals, and 16 Pan Pacific Championship gold medals, Michael Phelps is the most decorated swimmer of all time. But Phelps' medals are just the beginning of his legacy. He has attended 5 Olympic Games, been named World Swimmer of the Year 7 times, and has set 39 world records--4 of which still stand today. His list of achievements goes on and on. In fact, many have acclaimed Phelps as 'the greatest swimmer of all time'. With his retirement in 2016, however, his achievements have flatlined. Now more than ever, the door is open for a new star to top his records and steal his title. The question is: Who could possibly rival Michael Phelps and the legacy that he has created?

After finishing the 2016 season with 2 wins, the San Francisco 49ers decided it was time to try something new. They went into full-rebuild mode, giving six-year contracts to new head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. Prior to their hiring, Shanahan was an accomplished play caller who was only 37 years old, while Lynch was a commentator for Fox Sports who had zero front office experience. It was certainly a gamble, but one that ultimately paid off as Shanahan and Lynch completely rebuilt the team from the ground up (46 of the 53 players on San Francisco’s roster were brought in by the new regime) and within three years, got the Niners to the Super Bowl for a shot at their sixth title.

When tasked with winning football games, every head coach in the NFL talks about establishing an identity, as all the best teams have one. The 49ers are winning off of a multi-dimensional running game and a ferocious defense that gets to the opposing quarterback. The Saints are winning off a dink-and-dunk quick-hitter offense. The Chiefs are winning with speed on the outside and a lethal deep-ball passer. The Patriots have been "doing their job" for the last 2 decades. But out of all the teams in football, there's one team's identity which stands out as the most established, physical, and against-the-grain in all of football: the 14-2 Baltimore Ravens, the best team in the league.

For many baseball fans, the MLB postseason—the World Series in particular—is the ultimate test of skill and teamwork. Over the course of a month, the best teams battle it out to become the World Series champion. Dating back to the first MLB postseason in 1884, the title of World Series champion has been the highest achievement that a professional baseball team can attain. Thus, the importance of the postseason to MLB teams and baseball enthusiasts alike cannot be understated. This, however, has not kept the MLB from changing the postseason format every 10 to 20 years. As expected, these changes are met with criticism and controversy, roster and strategy changes, and—in rare cases—MLB dynasties.

Drafted as a Florida Marlin 23rd overall in 2010, Christian Yelich was a very highly touted prospect with loads of potential. As predictions usually go for players drafted in the first few rounds, he was expected to eventually reach the Major Leagues and be a top of the order bat, hitting in a fierce and intimidating Marlins lineup (80-82, 3rd in NL East in 2010) that was supposed to include Giancarlo Stanton, Hanley Ramirez, Emilio Bonifacio, Cameron Maybin, and eventually Marcell Ozuna.

On October 12, 2019, it was still early morning as the world watched as Elliot Kipchoge put one foot in front of another, gracefully passing the finish line and becoming the first person ever to run a marathon in under two hours. He finished in a blistering fast time of 1:59:40.

The modern fullback is way more than just a defender. Their duties and expectations have evolved as the game has changed over these past decades. Earlier, their main duties were to prevent opposition wingers from giving crosses, supporting the centre backs while defending and maintaining a good defensive shape. Fullbacks were famed by their defensive qualities and many greats such as Zanetti and Petit are still known for it. However, modern day fullbacks have to do all this and much more. They are now a vital cog to the team's attacking play, putting more emphasis on controlling the game in the attacking third and helping in the team's build up play. It is almost weird that sometimes their defensive duties become their second priority.

The Free Throw. the only shot in basketball that is theoretically free, but players continue to show that it's more difficult than it originally appears. In the early 2000's, the idea of "hack-a-shaq" was introduced. This strategy had players intentionally foul poor free throw shooters, such as Shaquille O'Neal to send them to the charity line. The hope. at least one missed free throw, and an opportunity to seize possession once more. However, as this strategy became popular, teams sent their poor foul shooters to the bench at late moments in a game. Fast forward to 2015. Stephen Curry became the eighth player to join the 50/40/90 club (50% field goal, 40% three-point, 90% free throw), and many shooters began to score at an all-time high rate. With shooting success becoming fundamental to an increasingly offensive game, we thought it would be interesting to look at how the free throw differs from years, stars, position, and three-point shooting.