Puerto Rico Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Sports=== [[File:DR_vs_PR._World_Baseball_Classic.jpg|thumb|250px|[[2013 World Baseball Classic championship]] between [[Puerto Rico national baseball team|Puerto Rico]] and [[Dominican Republic national baseball team|Dominican Republic]], March 20, 2013]] {{Main|Sports in Puerto Rico}} [[Baseball]] was one of the first sports to gain widespread popularity in Puerto Rico. The [[Puerto Rico Baseball League]] serves as the only active professional league, operating as a winter league. No [[Major League Baseball]] franchise or affiliate plays in Puerto Rico; however, San Juan hosted the [[Montreal Expos]] for several series in 2003 and 2004 before they moved to Washington, D.C., and became the [[Washington Nationals]]. The [[Puerto Rico national baseball team]] has participated in the [[World Cup of Baseball]] winning one gold (1951), four silver and four bronze medals, the [[Caribbean Series]] (winning fourteen times) and the [[World Baseball Classic]]. In {{Nowrap|March 2006}}, San Juan's [[Hiram Bithorn Stadium]] hosted the opening round as well as the second round of the newly formed [[World Baseball Classic]]. Puerto Rican baseball players include [[Hall of Fame]]rs [[Roberto Clemente]], [[Orlando Cepeda]] and [[Roberto Alomar]], enshrined in 1973, 1999, and 2011 respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://baseballhall.org/hof/clemente-roberto |title=Baseball Hall of Fame entry for Roberto Clemente |publisher=Baseballhall.org |access-date=30 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://baseballhall.org/hof/cepeda-orlando |title=Baseball Hall of Fame entry for Orlando Cepeda |publisher=Baseballhall.org |access-date=30 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://baseballhall.org/hof/alomar-roberto |title=Baseball Hall of Fame entry for Roberto Alomar |newspaper=Baseball Hall of Fame |publisher=Baseballhall.org |access-date=30 October 2011}}</ref> [[Boxing]], [[basketball]], and [[volleyball]] are considered popular sports as well. [[Wilfredo Gómez]] and [[McWilliams Arroyo]] have won their respective divisions at the [[World Amateur Boxing Championships]]. Other medalists include [[José Pedraza (boxer)|José Pedraza]], who holds a silver medal, and three boxers who finished in third place, José Luis Vellón, [[Nelson Dieppa]] and [[McJoe Arroyo]]. In the professional circuit, Puerto Rico has the third-most [[List of Puerto Rican boxing world champions|boxing world champions]] and it is the global leader in champions per capita. These include [[Miguel Cotto]], [[Félix Trinidad]], [[Wilfred Benítez]] and Gómez among others. The [[Puerto Rico national basketball team]] joined the [[International Basketball Federation]] in 1957. Since then, it has won more than 30 medals in international competitions, including gold in three [[FIBA Americas Championship]]s and the 1994 [[Goodwill Games]] 8 August 2004, became a landmark date for the team when it became the first team to defeat the [[United States men's national basketball team|United States]] in an Olympic tournament since the integration of [[National Basketball Association]] players. Winning the inaugural game with scores of 92–73 as part of the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] organized in [[Athens]], Greece.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics_2004/basketball/3567344.stm |title=Olympics 2004 – Basketball – Shock defeat for USA |work=BBC News |date=15 August 2004 |access-date=30 October 2011}}</ref> [[Baloncesto Superior Nacional]] acts as the top-level professional basketball league in Puerto Rico and has experienced success since its beginning in 1930. [[File:Orangestarsultra.jpg|thumb|[[Puerto Rico Islanders]] fans at a soccer game|alt=|left]] [[Puerto Rico national football team|Puerto Rico]] is also a member of [[FIFA]] and [[CONCACAF]]. In 2008, the archipelago's first unified league, the [[Puerto Rico Soccer League]], was established. Other sports include [[professional wrestling]] and [[road running]]. The [[World Wrestling Council]] and [[International Wrestling Association (Puerto Rico)|International Wrestling Association]] are the largest wrestling promotions in the main island. The [[World's Best 10K]], held annually in San Juan, has been ranked among the 20 most competitive races globally. The "Puerto Rico All Stars" team, which has won twelve world championships in unicycle basketball.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.primerahora.com/boricuasluciosenunarueda-boricuazo-especial-nota-243205.html |title=Boricuas lucíos en una rueda |author=Jesús Omar Rivera |newspaper=Primera Hora |language=es |date=29 October 2008 |access-date=16 October 2010 |archive-date=14 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514223446/http://www.primerahora.com/boricuasluciosenunarueda-boricuazo-especial-nota-243205.html }}</ref> Organized [[Streetball]] has gathered some exposition, with teams like "Puerto Rico Street Ball" competing against established organizations including the [[Arecibo Captains|Capitanes de Arecibo]] and [[AND1]]'s [[AND1 Mixtape Tour|Mixtape Tour Team]]. Six years after the first visit, AND1 returned as part of their renamed Live Tour, losing to the Puerto Rico Streetballers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.boricuasballers.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2542:and1-and-pr-streetball-put-on-a-show |title=AND1 & PR Streetball Put on a Show! |author=Raul Sosa |publisher=BoricuaBallers.com |date=27 July 2012 |access-date=31 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016022449/http://www.boricuasballers.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2542%3Aand1-and-pr-streetball-put-on-a-show |archive-date=16 October 2015 }}</ref> Consequently, practitioners of this style have earned participation in international teams, including [[Orlando Melendez|Orlando "El Gato" Meléndez]], who became the first Puerto Rican born athlete to play for the [[Harlem Globetrotters]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/hispanicheritage2008/news/story?id=3641638 |title=Melendez adds a new country to Globetrotters' resume |author=Joshua Hammann |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=14 October 2008 |access-date=7 November 2008}}</ref> [[Orlando Antigua]], whose mother is Puerto Rican, in 1995 became the first Latino and the first non-black in 52 years to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E3DD1239F93BA15751C1A963958260 |title=A Non-Black Player Joins Globetrotters |location=Antigua & Barbuda |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=28 December 1995 |access-date=14 August 2010}}</ref> Puerto Rico has representation in all international competitions including the [[Summer Olympics|Summer]] and [[Winter Olympics]], the [[Pan American Games]], the [[Caribbean World Series]], and the [[Central American and Caribbean Games]]. Puerto Rico hosted the Pan Am Games in 1979 (officially in San Juan), and The [[Central American and Caribbean Games]] were hosted in [[1993 Central American and Caribbean Games|1993]] in [[Ponce, Puerto Rico|Ponce]] and in [[2010 Central American and Caribbean Games|2010]] in [[Mayagüez]]. Puerto Rican athletes have won ten medals in Olympic competition (two gold, two silver, six bronze), the first one in 1948 by boxer [[Juan Evangelista Venegas]]. [[Monica Puig]] won the first gold medal for Puerto Rico in the Olympic Games by winning the [[Tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics#Medal events|Women's Tennis singles title in Rio 2016]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rio2016.com/en/news/who-is-monica-puig-the-puerto-rico-puerto-rican-tennis-player-at-rio-2016-olympic-games |title=Who is Mónica Puig the Puerto Rico player who won the gold medal in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games women's tennis final? |date=14 August 2016 |website=Rio2016.com |publisher=[[Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games]] |access-date=14 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826095633/https://www.rio2016.com/en/news/who-is-monica-puig-the-puerto-rico-puerto-rican-tennis-player-at-rio-2016-olympic-games |archive-date=26 August 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/sports/tennis/monica-puig-puerto-rico-olympics-gold-medalist.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826101224/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/sports/tennis/monica-puig-puerto-rico-olympics-gold-medalist.html |archive-date=2016-08-26 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Monica Puig, Puerto Rico's Favorite Daughter (and Only Gold Medalist) |first=David |last=Waldstein |date=25 August 2016 |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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