The End of the Underdog in College Football
In 2026, the best teams are no miracle.
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Justin Casterline / Getty Images The Slow, Inevitable Death of the Bowl Game
For college-football fans, the playoffs are now everything.
Illustration by Ben Kothe / The Atlantic* Sports Can’t Survive Prop Bets
As long as one player can fix the outcome of a wager, the temptation will prove irresistible to some athletes.
Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani / The Atlantic Risking Everything to Lose Money
Why do professional athletes keep putting their careers in jeopardy just to bet on sports?
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. The Shohei Ohtani Betting Scandal Won’t Be the Last
If the world’s most famous baseball player can be implicated in allegations of illegal gambling, what else is happening in the shadows?
Illustration by Ben Kothe / The Atlantic. Source: Getty. You’ll Miss Sports Journalism When It’s Gone
The ranks of sports reporters are thinning—making it easier for athletes, owners, and leagues to conceal hard truths from the public.
Gary Gershoff / Getty
