Ektelon, Inc. is an American manufacturer of equipment for racquetball. Originally based in Bordentown, New Jersey, Ektelon was founded by Franklin W. "Bud" Held in 1964 as the first company to manufacture racquetball racquets and stringing machines, not long after the development of the sport of racquetball by Joe Sobek. Working from Held’s garage in San Diego, California, the company initially set out to build aluminum tennis racquets and a racquet stringing machine. With the development of metal tennis racquets, the old techniques of stringing wooden racquets no longer worked, and Held saw the need for a new machine. Held is credited for one of the first patented designs for a racquet stringing machine. He named the company Ektelon based on a combination of two Greek words: "ektein", me
Ektelon, Inc. is an American manufacturer of equipment for racquetball. Originally based in Bordentown, New Jersey, Ektelon was founded by Franklin W. "Bud" Held in 1964 as the first company to manufacture racquetball racquets and stringing machines, not long after the development of the sport of racquetball by Joe Sobek. Working from Held’s garage in San Diego, California, the company initially set out to build aluminum tennis racquets and a racquet stringing machine. With the development of metal tennis racquets, the old techniques of stringing wooden racquets no longer worked, and Held saw the need for a new machine. Held is credited for one of the first patented designs for a racquet stringing machine. He named the company Ektelon based on a combination of two Greek words: "ektein", meaning to stretch out, and "telon", representing the concept of perfection. In 1970, Ektelon produced the first experimental racquetball racquet for Bud Muehleisen, a top racquetball player and early legend of the sport. The company moved into a larger facility in San Diego to begin manufacturing racquetball racquets on a larger scale. Over the years, Ektelon has introduced a number of new racquetball technologies, including the first racquetball racquet made of high-strength aluminum (1971), the first handlaid composite racquet (1978), the first oversized aluminum racquets (1984), and continues to develop new technologies in racquet design such as the elimination of string holes (O3). In 1988, Prince Sports purchased Ektelon and the brand remained prominent among racquetball equipment manufacturers for several decades thereafter. As a subsidiary of Prince Sports, Ektelon changed ownership and management multiple times before disappearing among the holdings of Authentic Brands Group in 2012. As late as 2015, the Ektelon brand name was referenced as an ABG property, but all manufacturing had ceased, with existing inventory disposed and player programs discontinued by the following year. A Restrung Magazine annual re-cap in 2016 detailed The Quiet Death of Ektelon with added insights, and the company website later went dark.

The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (Portuguese pronunciation: [kãmpjoˈnatu braziˈlejɾu ˈsɛɾii ˈa]; English: Brazilian Championship A Series), commonly referred as Brasileirão (Portuguese pronunciation: [brazilejˈɾãw]; English: Big Brazilian), is a Brazilian professional league for men's football clubs. At the top of the Brazilian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B. Due to historical peculiarities and the large geographical size of the country, Brazil has a relatively short history of nationwide football competitions. Only in 1959, with the advancements in civil aviation and air transport and the need to appoint a Brazilian representative to the first edition of the Copa Libertadores was a nationwide tournament created, Taça Brasil. In 1967, the Torneio Rio-São Paulo was expanded to include teams from other states, becoming the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, which was also considered a national tournament. The first Campeonato Brasileiro with that name was held in 1989. Prior to this, only the seasons post-1971 were regarded as Campeonato Brasileiro. In 2010, the national tournaments from 1959 and 1970—Taça Brasil and Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa—were unified by the Brazilian Football Confederation in the Brazilian championship history but cataloging these with their original name in the statistics, indeed they confer the same title, that of Brazilian champion, despite being different competitions. The Campeonato Brasileiro is one of the strongest leagues in the world; it contains the most club world champions titles, with 10 championships won among six clubs, and the second-most Copa Libertadores titles, with 19 title's won among 10 clubs. The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) ranked the league fourth in strength for the 2001–12 period after the Premier League (England), La Liga (Spain), and Serie A (Italy). The Campeonato Brasileiro is the most-watched football league in the Americas and one of the world's most exposed, broadcast in 155 nations. It is also one of the world's richest championships, ranked as the sixth most valuable with a worth of over US$1.43 billion, generating an annual turnover of over US$1.17 billion in 2012. Since 1959, a total of 156 clubs have played in the Campeonato Brasileiro. Seventeen clubs have been crowned Brazilian football champions, twelve of which have won the title more than once. Palmeiras is the most successful club of the Campeonato Brasileiro, having won the competition ten times, followed by Santos with eight titles, and followed by Flamengo and Corinthians with seven titles. Santos' Os Santásticos won five consecutive titles between 1961 and 1965, a feat that remains unequaled. The state of São Paulo is the most successful state, amassing 31 titles among five clubs.