The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.
Good morning! Check on the Saints fan in your life today (me).
Not Done Yet: The Guardians refuse to go away
For most of the evening, our thoughts on the Guardians were about anticipating gentle applause. A lovely season, fellas. But soon it will be time to exit.
Except they weren’t listening. A stubborn, talented Cleveland group shook off a late comeback by the high-flying Yankees — who scored four runs over the eighth and ninth innings — and staged an incredible comeback of their own to win 7-5 in extras, trimming New York’s series lead to 2-1.
It is simply impossible to lose when a man nicknamed “Big Christmas” hits a game-tying two-run homer in the ninth. And then David Fry did this in the bottom of the 10th:
DAVID FRY CALLED GAME!
Guardians walk it off in the 10th inning to take Game 3.
🎥 @MLBpic.twitter.com/aFpwu7JZgs
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) October 18, 2024
That’ll do it. It was an incredible game, another epic in a postseason becoming a tome full of them.
Tonight, the Dodgers can advance to the World Series, while suddenly the ALCS is a barnburner.
You know what wasn’t a barnburner? Thursday night football. Briefly:
Slop: Some people can go home, apparently
There isn’t much I want to say about Denver’s 33-10 shellacking of my Saints in New Orleans, but my job compels me. Two (bummer) things:Â
- Sean Payton showed he still runs his former franchise, as the man who won a Super Bowl with the Saints went into the Superdome and ran roughshod over a banged-up team. Denver is 4-3 and on the rise. The running attack was potent last night. A playoff spot feels within reach.
- The Saints, meanwhile, are 2-5, losers of five straight and, as Richard Sherman said on the broadcast, look like they’re trying to get coach Dennis Allen fired. Yes, the team has suffered significant injuries since the 2-0 start, but there is a glaring lack of effort all around. At this pace, it’s easy to wonder if Allen makes it through the year.
Sigh. Moving on:
News to Know
Bennett’s shocking retirement
Tony Bennet, the 55-year-old Virginia men’s basketball coach, announced his immediate retirement yesterday just 20 days before the college basketball season starts. The 2019 national champion gave no reason for the sudden move, but will address the media today. There has been no announcement on an interim coach. See more here.
Kawhi to miss more time
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard will miss the start of the season, the team announced yesterday, as the oft-injured 33-year-old continues to rehab his surgically repaired knee. The team has termed his absence as “indefinite,” though he apparently has suffered no setbacks during his recovery. Reminder the Clips also no longer have Paul George or Russell Westbrook. Full injury details inside.
More news
Watch and Listen
I was one point away from 3-1 last week. Sigh. We’re getting better, though, which means these are all perfect picks (odds via BetMGM):Â
College
- No. 5 Georgia (+3.5) at No. 1 Texas
The first real test for the Longhorns. I still think Texas wins, but it’s by a field goal or closer. And I fully expect this to be low-scoring. - Rutgers (-6.5) vs. UCLA
The Bruins’ awful travel schedule this year, plus the noon ET start time, convinced me to go big on the Scarlet Knights here. Smash it.
Read more: Best bets | Expert picks
NFL
- Chiefs at 49ers UNDER 47.5
I love this. San Francisco is in a rut, and Kansas City is averaging 23 points per game. I think this one ends like 23-13. - Bengals (-5.5) at Browns
Consider me a Cincy believer, but this is as much about the Cleveland downfall. How bad will Deshaun Watson be?
Read more: Best bets | Expert picks
Pulse record overall: 12-13-1
Watch and Listen
đź“ş WNBA: Liberty at Lynx
8 p.m. ET on ESPN
New York can clinch a title here after that scintillating buzzer-beater from Sabrina Ionescu on Wednesday. Genuinely sad at the thought of this series ending, even if it’s not tonight.Â
đź“ş MLB: Yankees at Guardians
8 p.m. ET on TBS/truTV/Max
After last night’s game, this is must-see TV, and the series feels interesting again. The same cannot currently be said of the NLCS, airing at 5 p.m. today on FS1.
đź“ş CFB: Oklahoma State at No. 13 BYU
9 p.m. ET on ESPN
Need a late-night switch? This game should be fun, and just about every Big 12 game has Playoff implications.
Get tickets to games like these here.
🎧 “Scoop City” dug into a Cowboys season on the brink. I’ll listen to anything about that mess. Catch it here.
Pulse Picks
NBA super teams are on the decline. Benefitting from that: star role players have become more valuable than ever. Marcus Thompson III calls it the “T.J. McConnell paradigm” in a wonderful story today.Â
Who’s ready to panic in the NFL? Mike Jones published our first panic meter of the season before last night’s game. I was surprised by where he put the Dolphins.
Over the last two weeks, we’ve heard so much chatter about a potential college football super league. Chris Vannini and Justin Williams have a helpful explainer on every detail of multiple proposals, plus a whole discussion on if one will actually work.
Todd McFarlane, legendary comic book artist and sports memorabilia collector, is extremely interested in acquiring the Shohei Ohtani 50/50 ball, he told our David Betancourt in an exclusive interview.
Very cool: Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry has a new sport, even at 80. Pickleball!
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Shohei Ohtani’s moonshot. Just majestic.Â
Most-read on the website yesterday: Our story on Janne Puhakka, the first openly gay player in Finland’s top hockey league, being found shot to death at just 29. More details here.
📫 Love The Pulse? Check out The Athletic’s other newsletters.
(Top photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
