After focusing on the top half of the playoff bracket last week, it’s time to check in on a surprisingly spirited race for the eighth seed. With about two weeks left in the regular season, seven playoff teams are essentially set in stone, though the matchups aren’t yet set. There is drama at the bottom…

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams. Week 1 is complete, and we’ve finally gotten a look at everyone in FBS. Well, not everyone (sorry you have to wait, Ball State). After a weekend that gave us only a few upsets but several mighty impressive performances, where…

The NFL season is mere days away, and the Power Rankings are here to check in on the vibes of all 32 teams after training camp. For now, at least, this list will look familiar. Patrick Mahomes rules over the kingdom with Dan Campbell and C.J. Stroud and Kyle Shanahan and maybe a few more…

The days were long, but the months were short. Finally, college football has returned full tilt. The opening week of the season is a particularly special moment on the calendar: the intersection of offseason optimism and reality. Talking season is over, and the games are here to help us decipher what was legitimate and what…

So you want to talk like a baseball person? Then you’ll have to curse a lot. At least, that’s how Pat Murphy, the Milwaukee Brewers’ manager, explained it to his boss’ young son. As long as you’re wearing a baseball glove, Murphy told Tyler Arnold — the son of Brewers’ general manager Matt Arnold —…

The basic arc of Andy Roddick’s life goes something like this: One day you’re a chirpy, hot-shot teenager with a thunderclap serve, who wears a baseball cap on a tennis court before that becomes a thing, and then one day you’re not good enough anymore, because inevitably nobody is. In between, you go to the…

Quarterbacks have never been more valuable in the NFL, and that’s now true on multiple fronts. Not only do teams need a great one to contend for a Super Bowl, but they also need to be great at asset management to maintain roster integrity around these exploding contracts. Nineteen quarterbacks are earning at least $30…

It’s Week 1 of the NFL season, a time for optimism. After all, every team is undefeated. But the reality is even the best teams have concerns as they prepare for the regular season to kick off this week. It could be depth at a position, a young player stepping into a starting role or…

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Before the first scoop of dirt was raised from the farmstead where Michigan Stadium was built, controversy was brewing about the professionalization of college sports. By 1926, Michigan’s football program had outgrown Ferry Field, where big games prompted far more demand than the 42,000-seat stadium could accommodate. Fielding Yost, Michigan’s athletic…

Although the Premier League’s summer transfer window has closed, many big-name players still have their futures unresolved. Other transfer windows remain open, including in Turkey, whose clubs can do business until September 13, so moves could still happen. But with four months until the start of the January window in the major European leagues, The…