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Welcome to The Pulse, our newsletter bringing you the biggest sports stories you need to know. All the links here are free to read! Just log in. Let's go:
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Michael Reaves / Getty Images
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The WNBA comes back, at the end
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There are so many sports that take midseason breaks, particularly for international play. We see it throughout the soccer calendar. Hockey has paused recently for it, too, while MLB and the NBA have breaks for All-Star festivities. But I can’t remember a break like the one the WNBA just took.
The league returns to action tonight after a two-week respite to allow players to participate in the FIBA Women’s World Cup, which was a huge success for Team USA. Instead of half the season to readjust, W teams get four whole games before the playoffs begin. What?
So let’s reacquaint ourselves quickly, because we’re on the journey, too:
- What’s left to decide? All eight playoff teams have clinched, but there’s still some seeding to be sorted. Our playoff projection tool has detailed odds for every slot.
- Who’s favored to win it all? As we discussed before the break, our odds have Golden State, the projected No. 2 seed, with the best chance to win a ring. Minnesota and Indiana follow close behind.
- Wait, I feel like we’re forgetting people. The rest of the playoff roster is stacked, too: A’ja Wilson and the Aces, the Liberty’s star-studded crew, Paige Bueckers making her playoff debut with the Wings, Angel Reese leading the Dream to the postseason in her first season with the team. The storylines are voluminous.
- Is there anything else going on? Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced her impending retirement while the league was on break, and we’re just starting to sort through who her replacement will be. Let’s hope the incessant drama around Indiana quiets a bit for a playoff run, too.
We’ll have plenty as we get closer, and subscribe to No Offseason before it’s too late. The FIBA World Cup schedule is different next time around, too.
Let’s keep going:
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Yesterday, living F1 legend Max Verstappen did what few titans of their sport would do: compete, only on a smaller scale, against 100 amateur players.
Verstappen raced a go-kart, in a real event, against relative nobodies, with a single goal: overtake every one of them. It was hilariously chaotic:
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That’s Verstappen cutting a corner, as he was allowed to do, calmly navigating the absolute anarchy on the track. He avoided a 30-car pileup at one point and needed just 35 minutes to “win” the race. I encourage you to read our full story to bask in the beauty of this.
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Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images
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Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old American soccer prodigy, has been called up to the USMNT for what could be his senior debut in the upcoming international window. Sullivan is the youngest USMNT call-up since Freddy Adu did it at 16 (a few months younger than Sullivan, though) in 2006. He has been great this year for MLS’ Philadelphia Union. Read our full report.
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- ESPN and announcer Joe Buck agreed to a six-year contract extension worth over $100 million, sources told The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. That’s a huge number.
- The NFL fined Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair for writing the name of a Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces on his eye black.
- Meanwhile, Patriots owner Robert Kraft pledged $2 million toward causes supporting people impacted by the war in Gaza after outcry over his banishment of the rapper Macklemore.
- The Winnipeg Jets suspended star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck for failing to report to training camp while he awaits a trade. Hellebuyck could lose salary if this extends into the regular season.
- Canada men’s soccer captain Alphonso Davies is missing the upcoming international window for an understandable reason: his honeymoon.
- The FBS Oversight Committee ruled that replay protocols weren’t followed in Michigan’s controversial win over Western Michigan two weeks ago. It doesn’t change the result, though.
- Notre Dame and Nebraska will revive their historic rivalry after a 30-plus year break. Read more here.
- Aaron Judge left the Yankees game last night with a leg ailment, although he attributed it to rust. Hm.
- Also injured: Dodgers starter Blake Snell, who exited last night’s game after just 19 pitches. It’s a problem.
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Emilee Chinn / Getty Images
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Hello there. You may wonder why a normal Friday feature is popping up on a Thursday or, in a hit to my self-confidence, you may not care a bit. Anyway, we’re monitoring situations today because we have a big thing planned for tomorrow.
Eyes peeled:
A pitcher MVP? Yankees ace Cam Schlittler was just a fun story a year ago, the Boston kid who zapped his hometown team in the playoffs for its historic rival. Now, as Chris Kirschner wrote this week, the 25-year-old has been good enough this year to warrant a look for American League MVP.
In 31 starts this year, Schlittler has a 1.95 ERA and is a shoo-in for the Cy Young Award. But Schlittler also leads the entire AL in Baseball Reference’s WAR (7.0), ahead of other contenders Bobby Witt Jr. and Yordan Alvarez. Read the full case here. I’m swayed.
The enraging ball bounces. Alexander Zverev won the U.S. Open with ease this year, but as Matthew Futterman highlighted earlier this week, he left tennis fans with a sour taste, due somewhat to his latest game-management tactic.
In tennis, players have a 25-second clock to hit their first serve. On second serve, the rules vanish, and players can take as much time — or as many bounces — as they’d like. Three of Zverev’s opponents, including runner-up Ben Shelton, complained about Zverev’s excessive bouncing, even calling for a rule change on the matter. More context here.
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What’s up with the Chargers? After an offseason of excitement, the other L.A. team entered Week 1 with legit title hopes. There was chatter of an explosive offense under new coordinator Mike McDaniel, and coaches even mentioned quarterback Justin Herbert as a candidate for the best QB ever to play football.
The Week 1 result: 14 points, 268 yards and a loss to the Cardinals. In Mike Sando’s Pick Six column, he explored why the Chargers struggled Sunday — and why Herbert has a “stacked deck” against him in the GOAT conversation. Read that here.
Our crew over at “The Athletic LIVE” also named the Chargers among five teams who can’t afford to go 0-2. See the rest here.
Thank you for monitoring a day early. Let’s keep moving:
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📺 CFB: Syracuse at Pitt
7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
What’s up, sickos? This feels like a Thursday beauty, with a decent, 2-0 Pitt team — ranked No. 35 in our latest Athletic 138 — favored by double digits over 1-1 Syracuse. The best thing about early-season college football: Do we know if either of these teams are good? No! But it’s fun.
📺 MLB: Royals at Astros
7:15 p.m. ET on Fox
Houston fascinates me. A thoroughly mediocre team at best, tied for the AL West lead at 76-76. Is this a team that makes a run to the ALCS? No idea. Could it, after winning so many games over the last decade-plus? Sure. Again, interesting stuff.
For a broader view, see our latest MLB playoff watch.
📺 NFL: Lions at Bills
8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video
What a delightful Thursday matchup here. Both teams are 1-0 after narrow-yet-impressive wins in Week 1. I wonder how new Buffalo coach Joe Brady follows up his motivational speech from last week, too.
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An important story you should read today: our exclusive report inside the Arizona State hockey program and the workout that left one player on life support. Make time for this.
Everyone talks about the McVay coaching tree these days. What about the Kubiak tree? Zak Keefer wrote a great story on the NFL’s most overlooked coaching lineage.
Keith Law did what every expert should do: admit when he’s wrong on MLB prospects. This list is very fun, led by a flamethrowing future Cy Young winner.
Prediction markets are everywhere right now and can frankly be a little scary. Chad Millman has a great look at how the sports side of these markets operate. It’s a fascinating read.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our huge report on college football roster salaries. So good.
Most-read on the website yesterday: ☝️
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