A Mexico City Basketball Team with N.B.A. Dreams Makes a Home in Texas

By BY SCOTT CACCIOLA from NYT Sports The Mexico City Capitanes, playing away from home because of the pandemic, are the first G League team in Mexico and an important part of the N.B.A.’s international expansion.https://nyti.ms/3HIIJ8F

A Mexico City Basketball Team with N.B.A. Dreams Makes a Home in Texas

By BY SCOTT CACCIOLA from NYT Sports The Mexico City Capitanes, playing away from home because of the pandemic, are the first G League team in Mexico and an important part of the N.B.A.’s international expansion.https://nyti.ms/3kXxMWU

The Return of Morehouse Football

By BY ALANIS THAMES from NYT Sports Morehouse was one of the first colleges that grants football scholarships to shut down sports because of the pandemic.https://nyti.ms/3anCR5j

Tokyo Convenience Store Chicken Gizzards Saved My Life

By BY ANDREW KEH from NYT Sports Cut off from most restaurants because of coronavirus restrictions, thousands of international visitors at the Olympics make do — and delight — in convenience store offerings.https://nyti.ms/3lkMXKH

Tokyo Convenience Store Chicken Gizzards Saved My Life

By BY ANDREW KEH from NYT Sports Cut off from most restaurants because of coronavirus restrictions, thousands of international visitors at the Olympics make do — and delight — in convenience store offerings.https://nyti.ms/3jdYKrN

Physically and Mentally Taxed, Olympic Hopefuls Near the Finish

By BY SCOTT CACCIOLA from NYT Sports The pandemic year disrupted athletes’ training routines, leaving many depressed, anxious and seeking help.https://nyti.ms/3jKE5O3

A Team in Anguish, a Vote and a Season Relinquished

By BY BILLY WITZ from NYT Sports The pandemic led to tough decisions for many college sports programs. Here is a look at how and why one of them, the Dixie State women’s basketball team, chose to stop playing.https://nyti.ms/3sRa4xp

The Australian Open Promised Lessons for Pandemic Sports. Just Not These Ones.

By BY MATTHEW FUTTERMAN from NYT Sports The goal was to hold a major international sports event without putting public health at risk. Mission accomplished, but pulling it off presented major, unforeseen challenges and many sleepless nights.https://nyti.ms/3qI5qkr

Virtual Cycling and Real Cheating: Cracking Down on ‘Digital Doping’

By BY NICK BUSCA from NYT Sports A highly anticipated race on Wednesday, sponsored by the Zwift cycling app and the sport’s world governing body, will test new controls on cheating in virtual competitions.https://nyti.ms/3guzVGf

Secrets of the Most Thankless N.B.A. Job: Referee

By BY SOPAN DEB from NYT Sports A 17-year veteran N.B.A. referee discusses blown calls, player beefs and the timeless question: Do superstars get special treatment?https://nyti.ms/3hUSbI0

What My Sled Dogs Taught Me About Planning for the Unknown

By BY BLAIR BRAVERMAN from NYT Sports Working with them in the wilderness means negotiating countless shifting variables. Sounds a lot like the world we’re living in.https://nyti.ms/3mHDlbk

Taylor Rooks Gets the N.B.A. Interviews That Go Viral

By BY SHAUNTEL LOWE from NYT Sports Rooks, a host at Bleacher Report, said being a Black woman in sports journalism has its challenges, but her approach — capturing players’ full humanity — gives her an edge.https://nyti.ms/2FCsEWr

The True Cost of Life in the N.B.A. Bubble

By BY MARC STEIN from NYT Sports In this week’s newsletter, Marc Stein reflects on what he will miss as he leaves the bubble after more than 50 days. Plus: How long will Mike D’Antoni stay with the Rockets?https://nyti.ms/2YZzpbU

Why Does the W.N.B.A. #SayHerName? Ask Angel McCoughtry

By BY GINA MIZELL from NYT Sports McCoughtry, a star veteran on the Las Vegas Aces, has been praised for suggesting that the W.N.B.A. include Breonna Taylor’s name on its jerseys.https://nyti.ms/34IG2CV

Damian Lillard Gets Help Moving Portland Out of the Yacht Club

By BY MARC STEIN from NYT Sports With a fourth quarter scoring run propelled by CJ McCollum and Carmelo Anthony, Portland earned a spot in the first round of the N.B.A. playoffs. They will face LeBron James’s Lakers.https://nyti.ms/3gZuG0M

Bear Hugs and Bubbles: Why Some N.F.L. Players Opted Out

By BY BEN SHPIGEL from NYT Sports “I’m literally bear-hugging another creature on the other side of the ball every single play,” Leo Koloamatangi, a Jets offensive lineman, said. “If that guy has any symptoms, I’m going to get them.”https://nyti.ms/2EUCNxh

Toronto Tones Down Its Postseason Party

By BY MORGAN CAMPBELL from NYT Sports The N.H.L. playoffs are proceeding without fans in and around Scotiabank Arena, leaving hockey to compete with other leagues for attention.https://nyti.ms/2D98in1

For the N.B.A., a Long, Strange Road Trip to the Finals

By BY MARC STEIN from NYT Sports The league has transported 22 of its 30 teams to a complex in Disney World in Florida to play out the season in a worsening pandemic. Can it succeed without the virus piercing the bubble?https://nyti.ms/2CJP33c

For Sidelined N.F.L. Brothers, Training Is a Snap

By BY BRETT CARLSEN AND KEN BELSON from NYT Sports Reid and Blake Ferguson are long snappers, housemates and training partners during an off-season that, so far, has no end date.https://nyti.ms/3clWMQv

The Trout Were Socially Distant, but Not the Family Memories

By BY THOMAS MOONEY from NYT Sports Fishing with his adult son for the first time, the author wonders if the pandemic will be remembered as the time we were distancing and yet simultaneously being drawn closer together.https://nyti.ms/3dNONwO