2 weeks Ago
The Pulse Newsletter đŁ | This is The Athleticâs daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Break a record today.
The good kind. On Friday mornings in football season, this opening section is normally reserved for the NFL , but weâll get to that in a minute. Shohei Ohtani , author of one of the greatest baseball seasons on record, takes precedence: Fabian Ardaya compiled the best moments from Ohtaniâs season , of which there are many.
His peers are in awe . It clearly meant a lot to Ohtani too, who said afterward he âwanted to get it over with.â Also feeling good last night? Aaron Rodgers , who looked like himself again in the Jetsâ 24-3 rout of the Patriots .
He threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns. New York might make the AFC East interesting . The only weird part of the night was this interaction between Rodgers and Jets coach Robert Saleh: This interaction between Aaron Rodgers and Robert Saleh .
.. đ đ„ @NFLonPrime pic.
twitter.com/7ODUpvCt5d â The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 20, 2024 We are almost ready to say goodbye to the 2024 Chicago White Sox , who creep closer each day to having the worst record in modern baseball history. For now, we simply gawk at the numbers: 117 losses in 153 games.
They are three short of the dreaded mark. But a larger question must be asked: How did this even happen? Just look around the rest of the AL Central, and youâll see joy everywhere. The Tigers are a surprise, as are the Royals .
The Twins are in a wild-card slot for now, and the Guardians are the class of the division. We got answers to the big question yesterday, thanks to a sprawling report from Brittany Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal. They focus squarely on an owner ill-suited for the moment: Chicago was thankfully off last night , and must win seven of their remaining nine games to avoid tying the 1962 Mets for the worst record in modern baseball history.
I urge you to read the full story here , which is rife with dramatic examples of failure. Jagr retires (finally) Hockey legend Jaromir Jagr, 52 years young, announced his retirement from professional hockey yesterday after a 37-year career . Jagr is currently playing in the Czech Extraliga for HC RytiÌrÌi Kladno, his hometown team that he also owns.
Iâll believe heâs retired when I see it. More news This one very much surprised me. Yesterday, we asked if Deion Sandersâ tirade earlier this week about media criticism of players in the NIL era was accurate.
Nearly 75 percent of you simply said you donât care. I think thatâs remarkable for Sanders and Colorado, who have soaked up plenty of spotlight over their 21 months together. We are at the apathy stage, according to you.
Not exactly what the Buffs are going for. A final note: Iâm not sure if I agree with Deion here, though the tenor has certainly changed. Iâd argue it was worse before NIL â many in the media treated unpaid 19-year-olds like pro athletes, not to mention the horrors produced by SEC message boards.
I still feel icky criticizing college kids, but at least theyâre paid well now? Anyway. Thank you as always for voting. We went 2-2 last week.
Completely whiffed on college games, but more data equals smarter picks, right? Yes, I tell myself. Picks for this week (odds via BetMGM): College Read more: Best bets | Expert picks NFL Read more: Best bets | Expert picks Pulse record overall: 4-6-1 đș MLB: Tigers at Orioles 7:05 p.m.
ET on Apple TV+ Talk about different trajectories. Both of these squads are on playoff tracks, but Baltimore is crashing after a sizzling start to the season while Detroit has been the hottest team in baseball over the last two weeks. The Tigers still need a few more wins to sew up a wild-card spot.
đș CFB: No. 24 Illinois at No. 22 Nebraska 8 p.
m. ET on Fox A top-25 matchup between these two , with actual hype for both, including even high ticket prices tonight? I love this timeline. Letâs see how far freshman Huskers QB Dylan Raiola can take his Patrick Mahomes cosplay.
Stream games like these here and get tickets here . đ§ â Scoop Cityâ has a banger episode with Chargers beat writer Daniel Popper â to talk about the teamâs great start â and Jets fan/famous actor Anthony Ramos. Listen here .
James Madison University was once a womenâs teaching school. Now itâs college sportsâ next disruptor. Justin Williams traveled to Harrisonburg, Va.
, to figure out whatâs going on at one of the best Group of 5 athletic departments in the country . Tim Graham has a wonderful story about Bills cornerback Christian Benford , who has heartbreak literally tattooed on his face. But thereâs more to the story .
Brandon Funston updated our Top 100 rest-of-season fantasy football rankings. Dive in here . What do Tom Brady and rapper Quavo have in common? Theyâre part of Toppsâ collectible growth strategy , as Justin Block writes.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday : Alec Lewisâ wonderful feature on Fran Tarkenton, whoâs still scrambling at 84 . Most-read on the website yesterday : Our story on the mistake by Julio RodriÌguez that allowed the Yankees to clinch a playoff berth Wednesday. Sign up for our other newsletters: The Bounce đ | The Windup ⟠| Full Time ✠| The Athletic FC ✠| Prime Tire đ | Until Saturday đ | Scoop City đ (Top photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images).
