Sports in the United States

Wall Street Journal sports writer Nando Di Fino joins us to talk about the weekend’s news and what to look forward to in the coming playoffs.

Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin looks ahead to what may be threatening the Superbowl hopes of the New York Jets. One of the best players in the league, cornerback Darrell Revis, is crying foul about a complex contract deal.

The Olympics bring countries together to play nice. But sometimes, those countries have irreconcilable conflicts, as in 1980 when the United States boycotted the Moscow Olympics to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. President Vladimir Putin’s recent crackdown on gay rights has some calling for similar action in 2014.

The National Football League’s referees ignited a storm of controversy Monday night — by some accounts it was the third-most tweeted event in Twitter’s history — when they incorrectly called a touchdown that gave the Seattle Seahawks a victory at the expense of the Green Bay Packers. Politicians of all stripes have called on the NFL and its referees to reach an agreement.

For the first time ever, one state has provided four of the 16 teams still alive in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament. But beyond Ohio, the Midwest United States is home to the majority of the still playing teams.