Today’s long reads

I don’t blog ’em if I haven’t read ’em.

The Kill Team

How U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan murdered innocent civilians and mutilated their corpses – and how their officers failed to stop them.

The Lost Boys

In December 1970 two teenagers disappeared from the Heights neighborhood, in Houston. Then another and another and another. As the number of missing kids grew, no one realized that the most prolific serial killer the country had ever seen—along with his teenage accomplices—was living comfortably among them. Or that the mystery of what happened to so many of his victims would haunt the city to this day.

Fiesta Bowl scandal reminder that BCS system invites corruption

In an age of dwindling university budgets, the presidents of some of America’s most prestigious universities outsourced the championship of their most lucrative sport to an organization that may have been involved in criminal activity.

But these new details prove that the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision presidents are venturing into downright reprehensible territory if they continue to support the bowls as a means to crown a national champion in football.

One thought on “Today’s long reads”

  1. TV revenues and alumni donations to college sports are big business. The major conferences combined take is about a half billion dollars from broadcast revenues. But like the lurking monster of mortgage backed securities in the recent financial crisis, the real money is in gambling on college sports. Estimates of more than $100 billion are considered reasonable, most of it illegally through organized crime. 100 times the amount of money is involved with people who tend not to “play nice”. Most people choose not to wonder who payed for printing the betting card they fill out on Friday. They should.

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