Why are these NFL stories so big? In part, it’s because the NFL is so big. And in part its because, as Derek Thompson explains, “TV is a sports bundle held together by football.”

+ The Ray Rice incident opened the floodgates on a swath of issues facing the NFL, including the brain trauma associated with playing football. As The New Yorker’s Ben McGrath writes: “It has become one of those clarifying moments, after which it is no longer possible to immerse oneself in a fog of ambiguity.”

+ The UFC has cut ties with two popular fighters facing accusations of domestic violence. Good, now we can stop associating their brand with violence.