NEWSLINE: The end of football?

IMAGINE A WORLD where Saturdays in the fall at Washington State no longer exist. No touchdown passes out on the Palouse, no bone jarring hits from the crimson and gray. No football... of any kind. Think this an absurd notion?

Tell that to horse racing and boxing, say a couple of the writers over at grantland.com. In the first half of the 20th century, football was not among America's three big sports -- baseball, boxing, and horse racing. Only one of those remains a marquee attraction.

Football is king today, enjoying unprecedented success and revenue streams. But given the right set of pressures and developing circumstances, the article says, no sport is guaranteed the throne, or even a continued existence. And there's gathering storm where football is concerned, coming in fast on the horizon.

A sobering look at CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and the concussion crisis in football today...and where things could be heading. For the full story, click here.