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Good morning! We have Skorigami in NFL Week 1. What a life.
While you were sleeping: Aaron Rodgers is simply good
Aaron Rodgers played a football game last night. Did you hear it? It actually happened, in perhaps the most anticipated matchup of Week 1, a 32-19 loss for the Jets to the 49ers.
Both teams have to deal with this. Two insights:
- At the Jets, Rodgers is healthy and showed a lot of energy despite a mediocre stat line (13 of 21, 167 yards with one touchdown and one pick). The bigger problem might be the weak running game (68 rushing yards). They also sorely missed newly acquired pass rusher Haason Reddick, who is still holding out.
- For the 49ers, it seemed like an offseason full of bad vibes. Brock Purdy was efficient. Christian McCaffrey didn’t play, but the unknown Jordan Mason made his best CMC impression with 147 rushing yards and a touchdown. This team should be at the top of the NFC standings for the time being.
Get a comprehensive look at Zak Keefer’s Week 1 as we prepare for Thursday. Yesterday we also had two (almost opposite) pieces of news about Rodgers:
- Netflix will publish the documentary series âAaron Rodgers: Enigmaâ in December after documenting last year’s lost season. More details here.
- Do you know who is not particularly interested in the controversies surrounding Rodgers? His hometown Chico, California.where he made an incredible difference for almost everyone. Zack Rosenblatt traveled to Chico to tell the story. It’s worth reading this morning.
Further:
Zoinks: Big Number Watch is running
This is the time of year when baseball (perhaps unfairly) takes a back seat while football kicks into high gear. Our eyes turn to the field as a marathon season on the field draws to a close. Feels wrong, right?
We’ll have more coverage of the upcoming playoff races later this week, but today we’ll let the big number chasers do the talking:
- Aaron Judge is trying to break his own AL home run record of 62, which he set two seasons ago. He currently has 51 home runs with 18 games remaining. At his current pace, he’ll finish with 57 home runs. New York’s remaining opponents: Kansas City, Boston, Seattle, Oakland, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. I hope for our sake that he comes close.
- Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani is trying to become the first 50-50 player in MLB history. Last night he stole a base in the Dodgers’ 10-4 loss to the Cubs, giving him 46 home runs and 47 steals with 18 games left in the season. I think he’s going to make it.
Big Number Watch continues.
news
Watson accused of sexual assault in new lawsuit
A Texas woman sued Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson yesterday, accusing him of sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The alleged incident occurred in October 2020, which is exactly the same time period as Watson’s previously alleged sexual misconduct. Two dozen women have filed suit against the quarterback. The new lawsuit contains disturbing details, and the woman says she was discouraged from coming forward after seeing how the previous accusers were treated. Read our full report here.
MLB candidates are called
Yankees top prospect Jasson DomĂnguez went 1-for-4 with a single in New York’s 10-4 win over the Royals last night. It was his season debut that experts and fans said had been long in the making. On the other side of the country, Texas has called up star farmhand Kumar Rocker, a two-time first-round draft pick, who will make his MLB debut on Thursday. Rocker had a, er, rocky road to the major leagues, but has been back in top form since returning from Tommy John surgery.
Hanson apologizes for Brady’s attack
NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson apologized for his criticism of Tom Brady on Sunday when Hanson said Brady needed to “make more of a fuss in the locker room” after the Cowboys gambled on trying to kick a 71-yard field goal. Hanson called the dig “ironic.” Read more here.
More news
The repetition: Wait, what was FSU’s NIL budget?
Welcome back to The Replay, where The athlete‘S Yifan Wu returns to a story you may have missed.
Last week this story about The NIL budget of the state of Florida became my Roman Empire. Our own Bruce Feldman reported that the Seminoles spent nearly $2 million on their starting lineup a team budget of $12 million.
To me, the math doesn’t add up. Conventional thinking says a bigger budget leads to a better roster. Yet No. 10 Florida State’s preseason record is 0-2, having lost to Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland, and then to Boston College in Tallahassee, the Dublin of northwest Florida.
The nuances of NIL science may be too complex for me or Dabo Swinney to understand. But after a few courses at the Brian Kelly School of Week 1 existential crisesI would like to report that my Big Ten comrade Oregon may have avoided an upset thanks to NIL math. Spoiler alert: A bigger budget helped the Ducks two weekends ago, and the reality of college football in 2024 has caught up with Idaho.
What have we learned? You have to spend money, so you should spend wisely, I guess.
Thanks as always, Yifan. We are now adjusting the Pulse NIL budget.
See and hear
đș MLB: Orioles at Red Sox
7:10 p.m. ET on TBS
Both teams have playoff implications here. Baltimore is still locked in a tight battle with the Yankees for the AL East crown, while Boston is three games out of the final AL wildcard spot.
đș WNBA: Lynx at Dream
7:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV
Minnesota has secured its playoff spot, but Atlanta is one of three teams battling for the eighth and final spot with five games left in the season. Drama is about to unfold.
Stream games like this Here and get tickets Here.
đ§ The winding hosted Joey Votto for the insightful conversation about his retirement, the state of the game, and more. I would listen to absolutely anything with Votto. Catch it here.
Pulse Picks
Arizona â yes, Arizona â has a superstar quarterback-wide receiver duo. They helped the Wildcats achieve a 10-win season last year, but both considered leaving after the departure of former coach Jedd Fisch. Brian Hamilton has the story of how Noah Fifita And Tetairoa McMillan decided to stay, thanks to a close friendship and a fortune cookie from Panda Express.
Chris Vannini is back with his Ranking of College Football Teams No. 1-134. Texas is extremely back.
Always worth reading: Mike Sandos weekly Pick 6 columnwhich was particularly informative yesterday about the debuts of Jim Harbaugh And Jerod Mayo.
Jake Ciely has Fantasy Football Recommendations for waiver wires for week 2. An invaluable resource.
Would you like a Aaron Richter Map? We have a complete guide to the numerous optionsfrom rookie cards to…corn stalks. Sure.
Our hockey team in the ranking NHL Reconstructions And chose which non-playoff teams from last year would compete for the Stanley Cup this season. See where your team landed.
Most clicked in yesterdayâs newsletter: Our story about Kendrick Lamar the Super Bowl halftime show.
Most read on the website yesterday: Andrew Marchand’s story about Tom Bradyâs shaky debut.
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(Top photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
