Spelling is not a sport, but the Scripps Spelling Bee is sport. Every year, the top young minds in the country converge in Washington, D.C. to determine to whose vocabulary reigns supreme. On Thursday, May 28, the 88th edition of the annual event will crown a champion at the Gaylord National Hotel at the National Harbor.
The preliminary rounds were held on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the semifinals and finals taking place on Thursday. The semifinals take place from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. and will air on ESPN2. The finals will go from 8 - 10 p.m. and will air on ESPN.
Last year, the event crowned not one, but two champions, the first time since 1962 that a co-championship was awarded. In the final round, Ansun Sujoe and Sriram Hathwar both correctly spelled "feuilleton" and "stichomythia," resulting in a tie.
While you will never see a "feuilleton" run the bases, nor will a quarterback come down with a case of "stichomythia." But the sports world does have its fair share of difficult names.
Baseball
Erisbel Arruebarrena - Dodgers SS
Clay Buchholz - Red Sox P
Mark Buehrle - Blue Jays P
Yoenis Cespedes - Tigers OF
Adeiny Hechavarria - Marlins SS
Kent Hrbek - Former Twins 1B
Doug Mientkiewicz - Former Twins 1B
Kirk Nieuwenhuis - Angels OF
Stolmy Pimentel - Rangers P
Marc Rzepczynski - Indians P
Jarrod Saltalamacchia - Marlins C
Jeff Samardzija - White Sox P
Mike Scioscia - Angels manager
Red Schoendienst - Former Cardinals 2B and manager
Carl Yastrzemski - Former Red Sox 1B and OF
Basketball
Alaa Abdelnaby - Former Duke F
Giannis Antetokounmpo - Bucks F
John Beilein - Michigan head coach
Zydrunas Ilgauskas - Former Cavaliers C
Przemek Karnowski - Gonzaga C
Mike Krzyzewski - Duke head coach
Bill Mlkvy - Former Temple F
Nazr Mohammed - Bulls C
Detlef Schrempf - Former Sonics F
Thabo Sefolosha - Hawks F
Nikoloz Tskitishvili - Former Nuggets C
Steve Wojciechowski - Marquette head coach
Kiki Vandeweghe - Former NBA F, manager and GM
Football
Devin Aromashodu - Redskins WR
Nnamdi Asomugha - Former Raiders CB
Gosder Cherilus - Colts OT
Hroniss Grasu - Bears C
Michael Hoomanawanui - Patriots TE
T.J. Houshmandzadeh - Former Bengals WR
Luke Kuechly - Panthers LB
Star Lotulelei - Panthers DT
Rey Maualuga - Bengals LB
Ken Niumatalolo - Navy head coach
Owamagbe Odighizuwa - Giants DE
Paul Posluszny - Jaguars LB
Ben Roethlisberger - Steelers QB
Dane Sanzenbacher - Bengals WR
Visanthe Shiancoe - Former Vikings TE
Ndamukong Suh - Dolphins DT
Hockey
Jeff Beukeboom - Former Rangers D
Mikkel Boedker - Coyotes F
Dustin Byfuglien - Jets D
Al Iafrate - Former Capitals F
Shaone Morrisonn - Former Capitals D
Nino Niederreiter - Wild F
Max Pacioretty - Canadiens F
Jakob Silfverberg - Ducks F
Jocelyn Thibault - Former Blackhawks G
Other
Tomas Berdych - Tennis player
Mix Diskerud - Soccer player
Gennady Golovkin - Boxer
Louis Oosthuizen - Golfer
Agnieszka Radwanska - Tennis Player
Arjen Robben - Soccer player
Brandt Snedeker - Golfer