Liberty Season Begins and Ends With Thrills

By BY KELLY WHITESIDE from NYT Sports Sabrina Ionescu’s game-winner that opened the season had everyone thinking playoffs. Nothing from that point went as expected, including the team’s postseason run.https://nyti.ms/3o6340k

The N.F.L. Made Some Changes Since the Last Time You Watched

By BY MIKE TANIER from NYT Sports Unfamiliar jersey numbers, penalties for anything that seems like trash-talking, gambling everywhere. These changes will incite double takes this season.https://nyti.ms/3l0JBLq

Before Balls and Strikes, Umpires Make a Call to Pray

By BY ALAN BLINDER from NYT Sports For more than a decade, a group of Major League Baseball’s umpires has convened by phone to pursue spiritual solace.https://nyti.ms/3mZzTLI

College Football Changes: More 2-Point Tries and a Crackdown on Stadium Gamesmanship

By BY ALAN BLINDER from NYT Sports Officials made some tweaks to the rule book for 2021. Next year, though, could bring much more rewriting.https://nyti.ms/3DxPb04

The Little League World Series Is the Pinnacle for the Umpires, Too

By BY JOHN BRANCH from NYT Sports The players dream of nationally televised glory. But for the nervous and excited volunteer umpires, the goal is to go unnoticed.https://nyti.ms/3AZE79T

Don’t Get Excited: N.F.L. Is Cracking Down on Taunting

By BY ALANIS THAMES from NYT Sports The league’s competition committee said that acts of baiting had gotten out of hand.https://nyti.ms/2VLDt0k

A Series of Uncomfortable Events

By BY JAMES WAGNER from NYT Sports As M.L.B. rolls out its “enhanced enforcement” of rules on prohibited substances, pitchers have faced T.S.A.-like checks on their way back to the dugout.https://nyti.ms/3jdWget

A History of Baseball’s Modern Era in Four Umpires

By BY BENJAMIN HOFFMAN from NYT Sports With Joe West about to break Bill Klem’s record for games, a look at four umpires who can connect 1905 to 2021.https://nyti.ms/3hRgIBe

N.H.L. Fires Referee for Comment on Penalty Call

By BY ALLAN KREDA from NYT Sports Tim Peel, who had worked in the N.H.L. since 1999, was caught on a microphone during a game saying he had wanted to make a call against a team.https://nyti.ms/3vRnqvL

Will the Super Bowl Be Decided by Penalties?

By BY MIKE TANIER from NYT Sports Statistics from the regular season indicate that the Buccaneers benefited more from officiating calls than the Chiefs did.https://nyti.ms/2MQw7V9

A Referee Pursues Her Calling in the Men’s Game

By BY JOHN BRANCH from NYT Sports Last season, Crystal Hogan was the only woman officiating games in the top level of college basketball. The question is: Why?https://nyti.ms/3qBjvAl

Play Hard. Have Fun. Don’t Touch Anyone.

By BY ANDREW KEH from NYT Sports In Massachusetts, rules changes brought on by the pandemic are forcing soccer players and coaches to adapt to a very different game.https://nyti.ms/3dmy7xC

Why Are N.F.L. Scores So High This Season?

By BY BILL PENNINGTON from NYT Sports Some look to the effects of the disruptions caused by the pandemic, while others find other explanations. But it’s irrefutable teams are scoring more points than in last season.https://nyti.ms/36RV8XI

Will This Be the Last French Open With Only Human Eyes Minding the Lines?

By BY CHRISTOPHER CLAREY from NYT Sports Clay-court events have been the last holdouts against electronic line calling, in large part because of how well the surface absorbs marks wherever a ball lands.https://nyti.ms/34IOAYJ

Bad Call Sends Kristina Mladenovic Spiraling Again

By BY BEN ROTHENBERG from NYT Sports The chair umpire made a bad call that cost Mladenovic a set point at the French Open. Then Mladenovic blew six more set points and ultimately lost.https://nyti.ms/2G3aa29

Automated Judging Has Changed the U.S. Open. Except in a Crucial Moment

By BY CHRISTOPHER CLAREY from NYT Sports A new system meant no line judges on all but two courts, including the one where Novak Djokovic was playing when he hit a judge with a ball.https://nyti.ms/3m6NxtJ

Ashe Stadium Again Turns Into an Arena of the Absurd

By BY MATTHEW FUTTERMAN from NYT Sports The stadium has been home to thrilling tennis moments, but also to strange and unusual ones.https://nyti.ms/3bK5N7z

Why Was Novak Djokovic Disqualified From the U.S. Open?

By BY BEN ROTHENBERG from NYT Sports The rule on the books is not well-known to some tennis fans, but it is clear.https://nyti.ms/2EWLHLn

Listen Closely, and You Will Hear Coaching During U.S. Open Matches

By BY MATTHEW FUTTERMAN from NYT Sports When an umpire called out Serena Williams over coaching in the 2018 U.S. Open final, it erupted into a scene. This year, with no fans in the seats, there is chatter galore between coaches and players, even though it breaks the rules.https://nyti.ms/2DwSHh0

College Football Rule Changes: Quicker Replays, Zeros on Jerseys and Social Distancing

By BY ALAN BLINDER from NYT Sports Officials will use electronic whistles this year, and we read the updated rules so you don’t have to decipher what they’re enforcing.https://nyti.ms/3gQK2DW