From Esquire, meet Dana White, the King of Mixed Martial Arts: With the UFC, he has turned a bloody fringe sport into a $1 billion empire — but not without stopping at Pinkberry. From National Affairs, the health of baseball concerns all of America, and the health of America — perhaps especially the American family — finds itself reflected in the state of our national pastime. Baseball’s Fall Classic may not match the Super Bowl for ratings or popularity, but when it comes to American sporting nostalgia, the World Series has no peers. A review of Onward Christian Athletes: Turning Ballparks into Pulpits and Players into Preachers by Tom Krattenmaker (and more). Football and the brain need a divorce: Evidence is mounting that the game's violence is shortening players' lives. Football pared to its bare essentials: Dreamed up as a half-time distraction, the Lingerie League is taking off. A review of Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefon Szymanski (and more). Hog the ball, kid: The case for selfishness in the egalitarian sport of soccer. Here are a slew of lessons on losing you may want to consider taking on board. A review of Wicked Good Year: How the Red Sox, Patriots & Celtics Turned the Hub of the Universe into the Capital of Sports by Steve Buckley. Taking the plane to the game: Sports travel — following your team on the road to away games or vacationing at major attractions — is scoring big. Unsporting: John Swansburg on why he stopped being a sports fan. Ever wonder where sports broadcasts get their facts and figures? Sports Animal: Jesse Smith on the not-quite-animal/not-quite-human mascots of professional sports.
