America’s Most Dystopian Halftime Show
How college football turns student debt into a game show
Sports
Don’t Cry for Jim Harbaugh
Being punished for an alleged cheating scandal doesn’t make you a persecuted underdog.
The Science Behind Basketball’s Biggest Debate
Playing in the NBA really is harder now.
Online Betting Has Gone Off the Deep End
What are the odds this story wins a Pulitzer?
The Good Luck of a Hard Life
How growing up with a pair of dice in one hand and a pistol in the other prepared Rich Paul for success
A Gory Amalgam of Truth and Spectacle
Trumpism hovers over the merger of the UFC and WWE.
Taylor Swift Is Too Famous for This
The celebrity-gossip industrial complex is about to crash into the savagery of sports media. Cover your eyes.
Sha’Carri Richardson’s Hair Sends a Defiant Message
Her exuberant hairstyles are a source of distinction—and a challenge to the criticism other Black women have faced.
‘Baseball, the Eternal Game, Shouldn’t Be Shortened’
Readers respond to our July/August 2023 cover story and more.
The NFL’s Dubious Rhetoric About Race
The league’s public-relations spin about diversity doesn’t hold up in private.