From The New Yorker, how different are dogfighting and football? Malcolm Gladwell investigates. Michael Oriard on how the NFL became the American war game. Matthew Futterman goes behind the NFL's touchdown binge. The forgotten ghosts of college football: Four schools that had it all — and lost it. From THES, a review of Globalization and Football by Richard Giulianotti and Roland Robertson. How the "Dream Team" changed the world: As a legendary basketball cast is honored, reflections on a global phenomenon. How to fix the WNBA: Why the NBA's plan for selling women's basketball will never work — and what might. Bracingly devoid of triumphalist homily, Andre Agassi’s is one of the most passionately anti-sports books ever written by a superstar athlete (and Brian Gallagher reviews Open: An Autobiography and more and more and more and more and more and more and more). A review of Life in the Ring: Lessons and Inspiration from the Sport of Boxing by John Oden. People with progressive politics shouldn’t reflexively shun sports, says Dave Zirin. Either/Or: Ariel Levy on sports, sex, and the case of Caster Semenya (and more). A look at how better-looking sportsmen more likely to win. Bodies without Bodhis: Karl Palmas on a philosophy of surfing. An interview with Tony Leonardo, author of Ultimate: The Greatest Sport Ever Invented by Man. An article on 6 ancient sports too awesome for the modern world. A new style of sports films: ESPN branches out with 30 original movies from Spike Jonze, Albert Maysles and others. The first chapter from Mathletics: How Gamblers, Managers, and Sports Enthusiasts Use Mathematics in Baseball, Basketball, and Football by Wayne L. Winston.
