Adam Minter

Every time a Major League Baseball pitcher blows out his elbow, the question is usually: “How long will he be out?”

Even thinking about that possibility was unheard of 50 years ago. A torn elbow ligament was typically a career death sentence. Back then, the question was: “What'll he do after baseball?”

Every time a Major League Baseball pitcher blows out his elbow, the question is usually: “How long will he be out?”

College football returns Saturday with a spotlight on its smallest new market: a few square inches of jersey space. For the first time, the National Collegiate Athletic Association is allowing schools to sell commercial patches on their uniforms, letting advertisers attach — literally — their logos to school colors and traditions.

On Wednesday, the NBA imposed one of the toughest penalties in its history. Citing deals it says were designed to circumvent the salary cap, the league stripped the Los Angeles Clippers of five first-round draft picks, fined the team $30 million, suspended owner Steve Ballmer and two executives, and ordered player Kawhi Leonard to pay $700,000.

On a late summer Saturday in Brainerd, Minnesota, rookie driver Maddi Gordon waited at the starting line in a roaring lime green Top Fuel dragster, one of the most extreme machines in motorsports.

On a late summer Saturday in Brainerd, Minn., rookie driver Maddi Gordon waited at the starting line in a roaring lime green Top Fuel dragster, one of the most extreme

When she hit the throttle and launched, the engine sounded like a pile driver wired to a jet engine. I was perhaps 20 feet from the car, and the blast lifted the baseball cap off my head.

On a late summer Saturday in Brainerd, Minn., rookie driver Maddi Gordon waited at the starting line in a roaring lime green Top Fuel dragster, one of the most extreme machines in motorsports.

The NFL season opens this week in a way that would have looked strange a few years ago. The first game was on Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, the Los Angeles Rams play a “home” matchup in Melbourne, Australia. To watch it in the US, most fans will need Netflix.