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Fewer kids are playing tackle football. Could flag be the future for the NFL?

Jan 12, 2024
The risk of brain injury weighs on participation. Sports writer Dave Sheinin says there’s logic in an eventual move to a safer game.
With youth participation in tackle football dropping, flag football presents a new opportunity.
Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Esports have exploded, but the profits haven't followed

Jan 19, 2023
Over the past decade, esports have grown to a point where events sell out NBA stadiums. But as popularity has boomed, esports leagues still face major business barriers.
The League of Legends World Championship at San Francisco's Chase Center in November 2022.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

What basketball can teach us about economic mobility

Mar 11, 2021
Ambitions to go pro are often "a metaphor for the elusiveness of the American dream," says "Hoop Dreams" director Steve James.
Success stories for Black athletes "can sometimes hide the fact that for the great majority of people in these communities, the hurdles are so huge that it makes it hard to succeed," "Hoop Dreams" director Steve James says.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

A conversation with "Hoop Dreams" basketball star, 3 decades later

Mar 11, 2021
William Gates, star of the 1994 documentary, on the economic challenges college athletes face today.
"Hoop Dreams" documents over five years the lives of two high school basketball players from families struggling economically in Chicago as they work toward pro careers.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Here's how the NFL draft is like picking stocks

Apr 24, 2019
Patience and risk management are key to both.
The 2018 NFL Draft logo is seen on a video board during the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium on April 26, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. 
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Major League Soccer bounces back

Mar 19, 2019
As Major League Soccer’s 24th season gets underway, sports investors are fueling a soccer growth spurt.
FC Cincinnati fans are seen during the match against the Portland Timbers at Nippert Stadium on March 17, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. FC Cincinnati won its inaugural home match 3-0.
Joe Robbins/Getty Images

When the family business is the most famous basketball team in the world

Oct 29, 2018
Lakers CEO Jeanie Buss on life and basketball.
Los Angeles Lakers CEO and co-owner Jeanie Buss at the UCLA Health Training Center, the Lakers practice facility in El Segundo, California
Ben Hethcoat/Marketplace

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When the family business is the most famous basketball team in the world

Oct 29, 2018
Lakers CEO and co-owner Jeanie Buss on life and basketball.
Los Angeles Lakers CEO and co-owner Jeanie Buss at the UCLA Health Training Center, the Lakers practice facility in El Segundo, California
Ben Hethcoat/Marketplace

The team is hot, but Yankee ticket sales are not

Jun 15, 2017
Fewer people are saying 'take me out to the ballpark.' At least, the ballpark in the Bronx.
Tickets at the new Yankee Stadium are more than $50. Above, Aaron Judge walks off the field after he grounded out to end the game against the Chicago White Sox in April.
Elsa/Getty Images

Biking industry keeps pedaling into winter with fat tires

Feb 3, 2017
Fat bikes have increased in popularity recently all over the country, not just for riding in cold temperatures. They can be used like a standard mountain bike on all kinds of terrain.
Fat bikes hang in the maintenance department of Freewheel Bike in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Britta Greene