Plain-English guides to the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL for fans everywhere. Rules, game length, playoff formats and the stats that matter, checked against the leagues' own rulebooks.
32 articlesAll American Sports Cafe explains how American sports work, one rule and one stat at a time. It is written for fans who are new to the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL, or who follow from outside the United States and want the details explained properly.
We check every rule, format and formula against the leagues' own rulebooks and official sites, date the facts that change, and update articles when the rules move on. You will not find picks or betting tips here. Read more about how we write and the team behind the site.
No. It is an independent guide. We use the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL rulebooks and official sites as sources, but we are not affiliated with any league or team.
Rules that change, such as overtime or pitch clock rules, are checked against the official source and dated in the article. When a league changes a rule, we update the guide and the date.
No. The site explains how the sports work. It does not publish picks, odds or betting advice.
Start with our [American football for beginners](https://allamericansportscafe.com/american-football-for-beginners/) guide, then the most asked questions above for baseball and hockey.
The NFL franchise tag lets a team keep one player with an expiring contract on a one-year deal set by formula. Here are the three tag types, the math, the 2026 values and the deadlines.
A Hail Mary is a long, low-percentage pass thrown into a crowd at the end of a half or game. Here is where the name came from, how teams run and defend it, and the rules that decide it.
Slugging percentage is total bases divided by at-bats. See the formula worked step by step, why SLG is not really a percentage, how it compares with AVG and OBP, and what counts as good.
Hitting for the cycle means a single, double, triple and home run in one game. Learn the scoring rules, natural and reverse cycles, why the triple is the hard part and how often it happens.
WHIP is walks plus hits divided by innings pitched. Work through examples with partial innings like 6.1, see what a good WHIP is, and learn what the stat leaves out.
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