FiveThirtyEight’s top stories this week

A [FiveThirtyEight]( email [Popular This Week] Sunday, January 2, 2022 [1. Sports In 2021 Were Mostly Back To Normal … Except Who Won]( [World Series – Atlanta Braves v Houston Astros – Game Six]( [Read more]( [2. Our Guide To The College Football Playoff Semifinals]( [CFB-PLAYOFF-PREVIEW-4×3]( For just the second time in seven seasons, the College Football Playoff includes three teams that didn’t qualify the previous season. Given that four programs at the Football Bowl Subdivision level account for 66 percent of all-time bids, this year’s playoff offers a palate cleanser for fans desperate for new blood. That half of the new representation comes from the winningest college football team of all time needn’t diminish the novelty of the moment. [Read more]( [3. We Finally Have Some Playoff Teams … And We Don’t Believe In Any Of Them]( [SportsChat-12274×3]( sara.ziegler (Sara Ziegler, sports editor): At long last, we finally have ourselves a playoff picture in the NFL — and it only took until Week 16. Six teams have clinched playoff berths, and though that’s still just 43 percent of the postseason field, at least we’re getting closer. Eighteen teams still have a shot at the final eight spots, setting up what should be a wild final two weeks of the regular season. [Read more]( [4. Does Scoring First In The NFL Make You A Good Team? Or Do Good Teams Just Score First?]( [New Orleans Saints v Tampa Bay Buccaneers]( In the NFL, the team that scores more points wins. It’s a statement as true as it is prosaic. As the league has evolved, the volume of points scored has increased, and teams are getting more aggressive in their search for points. “Score early and often” seems the order of the day. But just how much does the early part matter? Put another way: How often does the team that scores first end up winning? [Read more]( [5. With NFL Playoff Spots Up For Grabs, Don’t Be Surprised If These Divisions Get Greedy]( [Las Vegas Raiders v Cleveland Browns]( The Cleveland Browns just lost a crucial game they easily could have won, the Baltimore Ravens are a M.A.S.H. unit, the Cincinnati Bengals have been playing over their skis and the Pittsburgh Steelers might not make it to eight wins for the first time since 2003. Three of the AFC North’s four teams have taken turns as the oddsmakers’ division favorite since the season began — and the only one that hasn’t, Cincinnati, currently sits in second. It might feel like the division doesn’t have any good teams, but it certainly has four decent ones that are all remarkably evenly matched. [Read more]( [6. We Crunched The Numbers On 2021’s Best (And Worst) Teams]( [2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final – Game Five]( As we look back on the highs and lows of 2021’s sports calendar, it’s tempting to crown certain teams as the best — or worst — in all of sports, not just their sport. That’s been difficult to do across the pro sports landscape … until now. [Read more]( [7. Do You Have An Abortion Story? We Want to Hear From You.]( [An ultrasound machine sits next to an exam table in an examination room]( Nearly 1 in 4 American women will have an abortion before the age of 45. But over the past decade, access to abortion in America has changed dramatically. There are fewer clinics and more restrictions. And now it seems likely that the Supreme Court will limit the right to abortion even further. As we document the impact of these shifts, we want to include the voices of people who have had abortions in the U.S. [Read more]( [8. More NBA Teams Are Using A Pick And Roll Hack: Sticking Two Guys In The Corners]( [Bojan Bogdanovic, John Collins]( On Nov. 4, the Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks played what’s known in video game terminology as a “mirror match.” Less than a minute into the game, Trae Young dribbled into a pick and roll while John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanović stood in the corners. He made a layup. The very next possession on the other end, Mike Conley led a pick and roll with Bojan Bogdanović and Royce O’Neale in the corners. He missed a triple. [Read more]( [9. These Freshmen Might Be The Next Big Names In Women’s College Basketball]( [Aneesah Morrow,McKinzie Green]( We are approximately a third of the way through the 2021-22 NCAA women’s basketball season, and it is clear that the talented freshman crop lacks a top end of superstars that powered last season’s contenders. [Read more]( [10. What Was The Most Important Election Of The Past 75 Years?]( [SlackChat_1221-4×3]( Welcome to FiveThirtyEight’s politics chat. The transcript below has been lightly edited. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly Listen [Play]( [Politics Podcast: What Do Americans Think About 2021’s Biggest Stories?]( [FiveThirtyEight] [View in browser]( [ABC News]( [Unsubscribe]( Our mailing address: FiveThirtyEight, 47 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023.