Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.
That really depends on the definition of sport. Any definition which involves physically activity excludes chess, but other definitions tend to include it.
In all seriousness, soccer is good fun to play and watch.
From your list. I like baseball, swimming and soccer.
My favorites are, dance, gymnastics and figure skating. But I like all sports. I'm not a big basketball fan, though. :|