The hottest Sports Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Why the Chicago Bears Are Threatening to Leave Illinois

Huddle Up • 173 implied HN points • 23 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Stadiums Public funding Taxes Ownership
  1. The Bears are using the threat of building a stadium in Hammond, Indiana to push Illinois for public financing and long-term tax certainty for a new Arlington Heights stadium.
  2. Indiana lawmakers moved fast and unanimously to clear the legal path for a Hammond stadium, showing states will compete aggressively to lure the team across the border.
  3. Despite the public push toward Indiana, there are major practical problems with the Hammond proposal, so Arlington Heights still looks like the more likely outcome for the Bears.

Why Do Olympic Hosts Win More Medals?

Cremieux Recueil • 301 implied HN points • 18 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Olympics Performance analysis Sports Economics
  1. Hosts win more medals mainly because they can enter many more athletes, so sheer numbers produce more podiums even if each athlete is on average weaker.
  2. After controlling for delegation size, hosts still earn extra golds in judged sports, implying judges favor home athletes; that judged-sport boost appears even when there are no home crowds.
  3. Common explanations like wealth, population, distance, climate, jet lag, neighbor spillovers, or adding events don’t explain the effect, and smaller countries gain proportionally more because their delegation size jumps bigger when they host.

Change the Narrative

Personality Disorder • 79 implied HN points • 15 Oct 24
🎾 Sports Baseball Media Analysis Commentary Narrative
  1. People are using the word 'narrative' too much, instead of just saying 'story'. Using the simpler term makes communication clearer.
  2. When someone talks about a 'narrative', they often mean how people are talking about a situation rather than just stating facts. This can make the conversation less genuine.
  3. Focusing on the actual event or story, rather than the narrative around it, can help us see things more clearly and appreciate the real impact of what happens.

How Norway’s Youth Sports Model Built A Winter Olympics Dynasty

Huddle Up • 208 implied HN points • 19 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Youth Sports Sports Policy Coaching
  1. The youth sports system puts fun, inclusion, and low cost first — no scorekeeping until about age 13, no travel teams, and caps on expenses so most kids can join and play.
  2. Competition and specialization are delayed so children try many sports and develop broad skills instead of chasing early rankings, which reduces burnout and keeps more kids involved.
  3. That approach yields very high participation (about 93%) and translates into outsized national success, with Norway dominating winter sports and producing top athletes across other sports too.

NBA or MLB: Which league is on top right now?

House of Strauss • 25 implied HN points • 16 Mar 26
🎾 Sports Baseball Basketball Leagues Viewership Culture International Players Media
  1. People are arguing that MLB might now be more popular than the NBA, a debate reignited by recent events.
  2. The World Baseball Classic boosted baseball’s visibility and exposed cultural differences in how players celebrate, prompting mixed reactions about the sport’s image.
  3. Baseball’s decline and recent momentum seem linked more to structural issues and the rise of big stars (like Aaron Judge) than to players’ personalities or a supposedly stodgy American baseball culture.
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The Unmissable Winter Olympics

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 250 implied HN points • 14 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Olympics Winter sports Skiing Sports culture
  1. The Winter Olympics are wildly exciting and full of daring feats like ski jumpers flying massive distances, speed skaters carving sharp corners, and snowboarders flipping head over heels.
  2. Even though fewer people watch the Winter Games than the Summer ones, they deliver jaw‑dropping moments and it’s not too late to catch up and enjoy the drama.
  3. The U.S. is having a strong showing at the 2026 Games, sitting third with 14 medals including four golds, and that success has hooked many fans.

Liverpool Without Jurgen Klopp: Still Pretty Good!

No Grass in the Clouds • 119 implied HN points • 08 Oct 24
🎾 Sports Soccer Coaching Statistics Player Performance Tactics
  1. Liverpool is performing well even without their former coach Jurgen Klopp. They have adapted their game style to focus on quality shots rather than long-range attempts.
  2. The team has been effective in creating high-quality chances during matches, especially when leading. This shows a strategic approach to controlling the game.
  3. Defensively, they have given up fewer chances this season, indicating improved defensive strategies. However, they tend to concede more when holding a big lead, which may suggest a tactical choice.

True Pressure Rate (TPR): Week 6 Update

Trench Warfare • 79 implied HN points • 15 Oct 24
🎾 Sports Football Analytics Player evaluation Defense Statistics
  1. True Pressure Rate (TPR) is a new tool for evaluating pass-rushers that focuses on the quality of pressures, not just the amount. This helps to understand who the best defenders really are.
  2. Pressures are categorized into three quality levels: Rare High Quality, High Quality, and Low Quality. This classification provides deeper insight into a player's performance and effectiveness.
  3. The Pressure Quality Ratio (PQR) compares high-quality pressures to low-quality ones. This helps identify players who may not have a lot of pressures but are still working hard and making an impact.

The Super Bowl Press!

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 315 implied HN points • 07 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Football Betting Fans Media Events Profiles
  1. The Super Bowl dominates the weekend and pop culture, with the New England Patriots (now led by Drake Maye and coach Mike Vrabel) facing a resurgent Seattle Seahawks built around young talent.
  2. Sports betting is huge — as many as 70 million Americans may bet on the game — and the ubiquity of betting apps can distract fans and put young people’s money and mental health at risk.
  3. Big non-football stories are grabbing attention too: Michael J. Fox is back in a role that echoes his Parkinson’s advocacy, and a new Winter Olympics docuseries has made ice dancing a must-watch spectacle.

The vibes and the noise

benn.substack • 1227 implied HN points • 12 Dec 25
🎾 Sports Athletics Competitions Olympics
  1. Recent gymnastics scoring disputes highlight how rules and judging can be complex and sometimes unfair. In a case, a gymnast lost her medal due to a timing issue with a protest about her score.
  2. There’s a growing trend away from data-driven decision making, and instead, more emphasis is placed on intuition and 'vibes.' Companies are shifting their focus to how things feel rather than just relying on numbers.
  3. AI is becoming more integrated in sports and decision-making processes, as it can better interpret performances and judge routines. This represents a potential shift in how we evaluate things like gymnastics, moving towards a more feels-based approach.

Is ESPN Actually Ditching MLB For The WNBA And NWSL?

Huddle Up • 143 implied HN points • 20 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Broadcasting Media Rights Women's Sports Baseball Soccer Sports Business
  1. ESPN is replacing its long-running Sunday Night Baseball broadcasts during the spring and summer with WNBA and NWSL games in that time slot.
  2. The network is launching “Women’s Sports Sundays,” which will pair primetime WNBA and NWSL matchups with several hours of dedicated studio programming.
  3. The move has sparked significant controversy and confusion, and there’s a lot of disinformation circulating about what the change actually entails.

The Silver Bulletin Super Bowl LX preview

Silver Bulletin • 332 implied HN points • 04 Feb 26
🎾 Sports American Football Analytics Betting Teams Players History
  1. The Seahawks and Patriots both started the season as longshots but have become surprising Super Bowl LX contenders, making them feel like overachievers this year.
  2. The ELWAY forecast system has been bullish on both teams since it began publishing, producing ratings, QB adjustments, and simulations that largely line up with Vegas odds.
  3. The preview examines key X‑factors — quarterback health and performance, the Patriots' schedule, and why Super Bowls often score high — and it uses 30,000 simulations to project likely final scores and best square picks.

Congrats to Indiana

Points And Figures • 559 implied HN points • 20 Jan 26
🎾 Sports College Football Coaching Recruiting Rivalries Fan culture
  1. Indiana’s national title was a surprise because the team had no five‑star recruits; smart use of the transfer portal and NIL, plus coach Cignetti’s leadership, built a cohesive championship team.
  2. The Big Ten still feels like a few dominant programs and a bunch of smaller rivals—conference additions haven’t erased that hierarchy, and those smaller-school rivalries remain intense.
  3. Illinois fans give begrudging respect for Indiana’s run but are ready to go back to the usual rivalry trash talk and are already looking forward to the next matchup hoping for a big Illini win.

Tuesday Shakeout: Tick, Tick, Tick

Running Probably • 99 implied HN points • 08 Oct 24
🎾 Sports Athletics Training Injuries Endurance Coaching
  1. If you're dealing with an injury, it's important to take action to heal. Ignoring it can make your fitness decline.
  2. Training plans are crucial, especially for endurance athletes, to keep progress on track. Sticking to a schedule can help you bounce back stronger.
  3. Listening to your body is key in endurance sports. Being proactive with your health can prevent more serious issues later.

What Gambling Has Done to Sports—and to Us

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 496 implied HN points • 19 Jan 26
🎾 Sports Betting Integrity Addiction Regulation
  1. Legalized sports betting is now widespread and lets millions place fast, in-game wagers from their phones.
  2. Easy access to betting has driven rising addiction and debt and changed how fans watch and behave at games.
  3. Betting has fueled harassment, death threats, and game-rigging scandals that threaten players’ safety and the integrity of sports.

Boys Like Me Need Protection from Sports Betting

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 264 implied HN points • 06 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Gambling Youth Sports Sports Media Sports Policy Fan culture Advertising
  1. Watching sports has shifted from simple fun with friends to constant talk of parlays, live bets, and odds during games.
  2. Young fans, including high school boys, are being exposed to and drawn into online gambling, and many find it hard to resist.
  3. There is a clear need for protections to shield kids from the pervasive influence of sports betting and its advertising.

Level Up Challenge: Week One

Running Probably • 119 implied HN points • 04 Oct 24
🎾 Sports Running Fitness Training Health Wellness
  1. Everyone is at a different stage in their running journey, and that's okay. Whether you're just starting or you're a seasoned runner, there's a place for you.
  2. The Level Up Challenge has different levels for various runners, from beginners trying to build a habit to advanced runners seeking to improve speed and training. This can help everyone identify where they fit and what goals to set.
  3. Keep a running journal to reflect on your experiences and progress. Writing down thoughts about your runs can help you understand how running affects you, both mentally and physically.

ESPN: The Worldwide Leader in Shit

Personality Disorder • 118 implied HN points • 03 Oct 24
🎾 Sports Broadcasting Baseball Media Criticism Fan Experience Sports culture
  1. The quality of sports broadcasts, especially the Mets' broadcasts, can really enhance the viewing experience. Good announcers and production can make a big difference.
  2. ESPN isn't focused on the game itself but more on entertainment, often ignoring the intense moments fans care about. This can make watching their broadcasts frustrating for dedicated fans.
  3. In-game interviews and distracting graphics during critical moments take away from the excitement. Fans want to see the game, not be bombarded with ads or pointless interviews.

NBA Future of the Franchise Rankings III

Silver Bulletin • 136 implied HN points • 19 Feb 26
🎾 Sports NBA Rankings Draft Trades Analytics Roster
  1. A three-expert panel ranks all 30 NBA teams by their odds of winning championships over the next ten seasons, treating titles — not merely good records — as the only thing that matters.
  2. Long-term title chances hinge on more than current rosters: draft picks, cap flexibility, front-office skill, and market allure all matter, and the three judges weigh those factors differently.
  3. Recent moves and injuries have meaningfully altered outlooks — some teams are sliding because of bad trades or aging stars and cap constraints, while others rise from draft positioning or clearer rebuild plans.

Introducing COOPER: Silver Bulletin's NCAA basketball rating system

Silver Bulletin • 26 implied HN points • 10 Mar 26
🎾 Sports College Basketball Analytics Ratings Forecasting
  1. COOPER is a new Bayesian college basketball rating system that combines margin-of-victory, opponent strength, pace, and preseason expert polls to produce offensive/defensive (PPPG/PPAG) and Elo-based ratings.
  2. The model changes include separate offensive and defensive ratings, removal of the rule that winners must always gain points, game impact factors that weight close and high-stakes games more, and a time-varying k-factor that updates ratings more aggressively early in the season.
  3. Tournament forecasts combine COOPER with Pomeroy/Her Hoop Stats (COOPER gets 5/8 weight), run conditional (“hot”) simulations that update ratings as simulated games occur, and explicitly model injuries probabilistically to adjust win probabilities.

Going all in on becoming a Hyrox Athlete (Guest Post by Holly Gabrielle) | #323

Boundless by Paul Millerd • 66 implied HN points • 24 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Training Performance Recovery Nutrition Competition Sports Media
  1. She quit a stable writing job to go all‑in on becoming an elite Hyrox athlete, choosing action over safety to chase a bold, concrete goal.
  2. Stepping away from work is about more than time — it’s about reclaiming mental energy for focused training, recovery, and better planning using an essentialist, "Hell yeah or no" approach.
  3. She’s rebuilding a fitness-focused brand with her partner and documenting the journey while living in cheaper cities to stretch savings; there’s little income now and clear financial risk, but she views the pursuit as worth the tradeoff.

Rodri Vs. Pep Guardiola: Who Ya' Got?

No Grass in the Clouds • 99 implied HN points • 04 Oct 24
🎾 Sports Soccer Player analysis Team performance Statistics Trends
  1. Rodri is a key player for Manchester City, showing impressive skills in tackles, passes, and goals. He's unique in the modern game.
  2. There are rankings for the best American and Premier League soccer players, showcasing talent from different leagues.
  3. There's buzz around players like Erling Haaland potentially reaching high goal tallies in a season, while other players are gaining attention for their performances.

Personal Message from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

kareem • 9119 implied HN points • 19 Apr 23
🎾 Sports
  1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar values his paid subscribers and acknowledges the importance of their support.
  2. The newsletter is able to exist and maintain quality thanks to the paid subscribers.
  3. By upgrading to a paid subscription, readers can enjoy exclusive behind-the-scenes content from Kareem.

The NFL’s Super Bowl Demands Are Crazier Than You Think

Huddle Up • 215 implied HN points • 04 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Sports Business Event Management Stadiums Sponsorship Ticketing Hospitality
  1. The NFL takes tight control of the Super Bowl experience, including long rent-free stadium use, exclusive suite and ticket allocations, and the power to swap sponsors and concessions.
  2. Host cities must meet many specific, costly demands — large (often domed) stadiums or heating systems, sales-tax exemptions, free amenities like golf courses and bowling alleys, and to pay for NFL inspection trips.
  3. The financial deal is heavily lopsided: the league keeps most revenue and tax breaks while cities and local businesses shoulder big costs and provide services for free.

What the Bills Mafia Teaches Us About Resilience

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 180 implied HN points • 06 Feb 26
🎾 Sports NFL Teams Fans Coaching Playoffs Community
  1. Fans stay fiercely loyal despite decades of heartbreak, and their love of football and life keeps them going.
  2. The team has reached high levels—MVPs and playoff wins—yet keeps falling short of the ultimate prize, showing that resilience matters as much as trophies.
  3. Painful, public setbacks like controversial losses and coaching changes are part of the journey, but the community keeps coming together and finding pride in perseverance.

I Hated Novak Djokovic. Now I’m Rooting for Him.

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 2805 implied HN points • 23 Aug 25
🎾 Sports Athletes Tournaments Fan culture Sports History Competitions
  1. Many tennis fans initially disliked Novak Djokovic because he was too good, often overshadowing other favorites like Roger Federer. It's common for people to root against someone who's very successful.
  2. Watching Djokovic's matches can be intense, especially when he's up against beloved players like Federer. His skills often leave fans with mixed feelings during critical moments in the game.
  3. Over time, some fans realize they appreciate Djokovic's talent and resilience, leading to a change of heart about his place in tennis history. People can grow to support players they once disliked.

Inside the Algorithms Sportsbooks Use to Track Bettors, Limit Winners, and Push Losers to Bet More

Huddle Up • 185 implied HN points • 02 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Sports Betting Analytics Risk management Marketing Regulation
  1. A tiny share of bettors — VIPs and high-volume losers — produce most sportsbook profits, so operators design products and margins around that long-tail revenue curve.
  2. Sportsbooks use AI plus required KYC/AML and behavioral data to profile every account from signup, tracking things like age, address, device, geolocation, social links, payment method, and app usage patterns.
  3. Those profiles drive targeted tactics — push notifications, personalized bonuses, VIP perks, A/B tests, product nudges, and limits or bans for winners — to press losing customers to bet more and protect the house.

Was There A Football Game Last Night?

Points And Figures • 532 implied HN points • 28 Dec 25
🎾 Sports American Football NFL Teams Rivalries Fans Stadiums
  1. I went to a post-Christmas Norwegian party and enjoyed traditional treats like krumkakes and pickled beets.
  2. The long Bears–Packers rivalry is alive, and Packers fans have had the upper hand through the Favre and Rodgers eras while Jordan Love now looks capable.
  3. The Bears are champions of the NFC North but face a very tough game against the 49ers, so it’s a big test for the Monsters of the Midway.

Ancient Wisdom: What Cancer Taught Chris Evert

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 2638 implied HN points • 17 Aug 25
🎾 Sports Tennis Athletics Wellness Aging Mentoring
  1. Going through cancer treatment, Chris Evert felt that being called brave was not really a choice, as the only other option was to give up. She focused on staying strong because that was her only choice.
  2. After retiring from tennis, Evert embraced motherhood and found joy in it, choosing to prioritize time with her children over a possible comeback to sports.
  3. Evert started mentoring young tennis players after her career, sharing her experiences and wisdom from her time in the sport, which she found very fulfilling.

Born on the 8th of January

JoeBlogs • 3655 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
🎾 Sports Personal Story Super Bowl Family Dynamics
  1. The author was born on the day of Super Bowl I, which shaped his childhood mythology.
  2. His father watched the Super Bowl instead of nervously awaiting his birth, influencing the author's love for sports.
  3. The author's grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, couldn't understand the author's passion for sports due to the circumstances of his birth.

Running together

Thinking about... • 776 implied HN points • 15 Nov 25
🎾 Sports Running Community Health Personal Stories
  1. Sometimes things don't go as planned, like when a race turns out to be a scam. But it's important to make the best of the situation and still participate.
  2. Even without official organizers or timing, running with others can create a sense of community and support. It's nice to cheer each other on, even in tricky circumstances.
  3. The joy of running is not just about competition but also about the shared experience. Completing the run together made it a special moment, despite the original disappointment.

Deserving to Win: The Ecological Invalidity of Sport

Living Fossils • 12 implied HN points • 04 Mar 26
🎾 Sports Psychology Fairness Competition Teams Fans Evolution
  1. People often feel a team ‘deserved’ to win because our evolved fairness and cheater-detection instincts expect that those who pay the cost should get the benefit; when a team clearly seems to have worked harder but still loses, that mismatch feels morally wrong.
  2. Sports mimic ancestral conflict but are ecologically invalid: they reward abstract scores and inject a lot of randomness, so effort and outcome can come apart and our dominance/status systems get confused.
  3. Other evolved intuitions—like rooting for underdogs and accepting luck in some contests—make reactions context-sensitive, so fans are usually upset by the situation itself rather than angry at individual players.

What do you think you're hiding?

Passing Time • 234 implied HN points • 19 Jan 26
🎾 Sports Outdoor Recreation Social media
  1. If you’re going to hide your Strava map, don’t post the activity publicly — either make the whole post private or don’t post at all.
  2. Hiding a map usually signals either risky or trespassing behavior, or that you’re gatekeeping secret spots; owning mistakes can help others and hiding them doesn’t erase anything.
  3. Posting photos while hiding maps to flex secret locations is selfish and harms the community; if you truly want to protect a place, keep the entire activity private or don’t record it.

The Never-ending Agony of Being a Jets Fan

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 129 implied HN points • 07 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Football NFL Teams Fans Rivalry History
  1. Being a Jets fan means constant disappointment and emotional pain, and that feeling is especially intense around events like the Super Bowl.
  2. This season feels worse than usual because the Jets have connections to both Super Bowl teams, which amplifies the sting for fans.
  3. Long-term failures—no playoff appearances since 2010 and a low winning percentage this century—have deepened fan frustration and turned the team into a cultural punchline.

Eileen Gu Isn’t An Activist. She’s A Capitalist.

Huddle Up • 71 implied HN points • 17 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Endorsements Sponsorships Olympics Earnings Geopolitics
  1. She is a once-in-a-generation athlete who studies and executes skiing with scientific precision and unmatched skill.
  2. She avoids commenting on China’s human rights controversies, saying she isn’t an expert and prefers not to make claims without exhaustive evidence.
  3. Her switch to compete for China, special citizenship arrangements, and massive endorsement deals suggest her choices are driven mainly by financial opportunity rather than activism, with nearly all her income coming from sponsors.