sports

Humans crave stories that create order, whether they’re about the supreme being in the universe or the greatest tennis player in history.

Through play, children acquire fundamental skills for living cooperatively with others.

To find religious activity among the nation’s young, look to Afro-Caribbean athletes.

They’re acts of harm against living, breathing people.

Chess players and golfers might benefit from an early, singular focus. Most people don’t.

A book of essays offers an array of perspectives for and against.

Jonathan Eig's biography shows how the boxer took on opponents in multiple arenas.

The controversy over athletes kneeling during the national anthem reveals America's unholy trinity of patriotism, militarism, and sports.

In C.E. Morgan’s world, anything goes as long as it’s couched in the language of the equine.

The fifth-grade team had been coached since the Council of Trent by Mr. Torrens, whose idea of offense consisted of one utterly useless play.

I keep seeing T. F. Charlton's Jason Collins post everywhere, and with good reason:

Tim Tebow is an example of how the public face of Christian athletes, like the public face of American Christianity in general, is overwhelmingly white—despite the fact that black Americans are the racial demographic most likely to identify as “very religious.” A recent Barna poll found that Tebow is by far the most well-known Christian professional athlete in the U.S. (with 83% awareness from the public), with retired white quarterback Kurt Warner a distant second at 59%. Robert Griffin III (RGIII), a black quarterback who’s had a far more successful season with the Redskins than Tebow’s had with the Jets, trailed at 34%.

It's a good point, but I don't think it's the whole story.

The NFL gambled on fans’ willingness to endure the replacement refs. It was wrong—a good development for whatever ethical margin a football fan might claim.

A sociologist might see in football a society's need to control and ritualize violence. The church fathers, however, weren't much for sociologists.