The Pulse Newsletter đŁ | This is The Athleticâs daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.
Good morning! Get some fresh air before the good games start.
Kyle Terada / Imagn Images
About Last Night: NBA Cup final set
It was a perfectly pleasant day of NBA hoops yesterday, but with plenty of other news to get to, weâll keep this brief. The stars came through for both winning teams in the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas:
- In the first of the two contests, the Bucks beat the Hawks 110-102 behind 32 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists from Giannis Antetokounmpo, avenging last yearâs disappointment. Damian Lillard added 25 points and seven assists.
- In the late game, it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who starred with 32 points in a defense-heavy matchup and had this âŠ. weirdly endearing ⊠postgame moment. Good vibes.
The NBA Cup final is Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET. (ABC). Reminder, since this is only our second time going through it: The final is the one game in this tournament that doesnât count toward regular-season standings. Also, every player on the final two teams is guaranteed at least $205,988 â with the winners getting $514,971 each. đ€Ż
Onward:
Strange Days: A notably packed college football Saturday
These days, it feels like weâre saying this frequently, but itâs true yet again: Yesterday was one of the weirder days in college football history.
- As recently as 16 years ago, there were traditionally two full weeks between the end of the FBS regular season and the beginning of its bowl season.
- Then, ArmyâNavy moved into that empty weekend, shining one of the sportâs biggest annual spotlights on one of its most historic rivalries.
- In 2024, with the expanded College Football Playoffâs new quarterfinal games arriving before Christmas, the rest of bowl season has sprawled across the calendar.
So yesterday, for what mightâve been the first time ever, FBS regular-season and bowl-season action happened on the same day. Navy ruined Armyâs best season since the 1950s by winning one of this rivalryâs rare blowouts, and then â in slightly less landmark news â South Alabama hit 7-6 by beating Western Michigan in Montgomery, Alabamaâs bowl.
And thatâs in addition to everything else in CFB that happened yesterday: Travis Hunter won the Heisman (check out his suit, and here are the voting margins), and Jackson State won the HBCU national title in the Celebration Bowl (yep, two years after the departure of ⊠Travis Hunter), plus Armyâs anticipated bowl opponent, Marshall, withdrew due to transfer-portal losses.
Oh yeah, and all of this is happening amid the December transfer-portal rush and days after Texas clinched the top recruiting class and with Bill freaking Belichick randomly materializing in the ACC (more on him shortly).
Never boring. Five days until the CFP starts.
News to Know
Whereâs LeBron?
A situation to monitor today: LeBron James has missed two straight games, and Lakers coach JJ Redick said Friday he doesnât know when the superstar will be back. James is officially listed as out with foot soreness, but Redick said Wednesday that the 39-year-old had an excused absence for âpersonal reasons.â Los Angeles (13-12) plays the Timberwolves at 9:30 p.m. ET tonight, so stay tuned for updates.
Belichick was interested in ⊠them?
As the dust settles on our new reality â Bill Belichick is the head coach at UNC â our Dianna Russini came through with some extra intel yesterday: About two weeks ago, the Jets âwere informed that there was interest in their organizationâ from Belichick. Remember, Belichick was New Yorkâs head coach for 24 hours ⊠24 years ago. Read Diannaâs full Saturday column.
More news
- Auburn defensive lineman Trill Carter is recovering from a bullet wound to the lower stomach after being shot during an incident late Thursday in Charlotte, he said yesterday. Full story here.
- NFL great Randy Moss â who recently stepped away from television work to focus on his health â detailed his ongoing recovery from a cancer diagnosis in an emotional Instagram Live appearance Friday.
- This seasonâs woes continued for Joel Embiid and the 7-16 76ers on Friday when he exited the teamâs loss to the Pacers with a fractured sinus. Ouch.
- The Astros traded outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Cubs in exchange for a package headlined by infielder Isaac Paredes. Read our breakdown here.
- Cal football hired Nick Rolovich, the former Washington State head coach who was fired in 2021 for failing to comply with the stateâs COVID-19 vaccine mandate, as an offensive assistant.
đ« Love The Pulse? Check out The Athleticâs other newsletters.
NFL Watch Guide: Maybe take the lunch hour off today
Weâd never tell you to skip NFL football on a Sunday, but unless your team is playing in the early window ⊠maybe you should get a chore done. All the action starts this afternoon. Just see for yourself (all times ET):
1 p.m.
Cowboys (5-8) at Panthers (3-10) â This is a sickoâs delight, as you can watch Dallas squirm once more this season as they try to find a win against a resurgent Bryce Young in Carolina. Dallasâ defense isnât bad, but Iâd bet on Young & Co. in a nice win. TV: Fox
4:25 p.m.
Bills (10-3) at Lions (12-1) â Welcome to the afternoon! Hereâs a possible Super Bowl preview. It was nearly $400 just to get into the stadium here yesterday. Josh Allen will do some superhuman stuff, win or lose. Iâm excited to watch. TV: CBS
8:20 p.m.
Packers (9-4) at Seahawks (8-5) â A huge game for playoff seeding. Green Bay is solidly a wild-card team right now, and Seattle remains on the precipice of the NFC West division lead. Both need this badly. TV: NBC
Pulse Picks
Calais Campbell could probably play until heâs 45. No, really. Read this story on the 38-year-old Dolphins wrecking ball by Zak Keefer and try to disagree.
From Friday: Nothing represented the 49ersâ season more than Deebo Samuelâs big drop â and his comments before it. San Francisco is due for a retooling.
We have a QB transfer portal big board here that could be very valuable going forward.
Fluto Shinzawa has an intriguing story on the brands of sticks certain hockey players use and why.
In case you didnât get to it Friday, weâre still thinking about the fascinating story from Larry Holder and Craig Custance on the use of CT scanners in the trading card industry. Catch up!
Try todayâs Connections: Sports Edition beta.
Most-clicked in Fridayâs newsletter: Our story on 49ers linebacker DeâVondre Campbell refusing to play. (The team now plans to part with him.)
Most-read on the website yesterday: Diannaâs column featuring the Belichick-Jets twist, the latest on the 49ersâ plans around Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan, and more.
(Top photo: Danny Wild / Imagn Images)
