The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.
Good morning! Back in December, we ran a survey for our 1,000th Pulse, and readers gave one overwhelming piece of feedback: You wanted a Saturday Pulse. Thus, behold, the first Saturday Pulse, where the essence of our weekday versions carries over into a weekend-friendly format, with a rotating cast of authors. — Chris
Onward … but with less urgency. 🏖️
Brackets: Today’s hoops likely more memorable than yesterday’s
On the bright side, your bracket probably didn’t sustain much damage on Friday, and enjoying fewer upsets now means getting more marquee games later, right? Three quick updates:
As for today, which might be your first chance this week to park all day in front of screens full of basketball, we have the two most watchable on-court experiences below.
But we also know today’s main event: Rick Pitino vs. John Calipari. Yet again.
- Since 1991, these coaches have met four times in March Madness alone. In those games, Pitino’s Kentucky went 2-0 against Calipari’s UMass, before Calipari’s Kentucky went 2-0 against Pitino’s Louisville.
- In between, they remained inseparable even in the NBA. Pitino’s Celtics and Calipari’s Nets split their handful of late-‘90s meetings.
- This time, Pitino’s No. 2 St. John’s is a 6.5-point favorite over Calipari’s No. 10 Arkansas, per BetMGM. (2:40 p.m. ET, CBS.)
For much more on today’s implausible (but somehow unavoidable) Pitino-Calipari reunion, read Brendan Quinn’s new story on their shared history, which goes way deeper than I’d realized:
“Calipari and Pitino have known each other since Howard Garfinkel’s famed Five-Star Basketball Camp in the Pocono Mountains outside Scranton, Pa. Pitino, the older of the two, was a counselor in the ’70s when Calipari was a player.”
News to Know
RIP, George Foreman
Boxing legend George Foreman died yesterday at age 76, his family said in an Instagram post. He was a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist, and his 1974 loss to Muhammad Ali at the “Rumble in the Jungle,” retirement and subsequent return to the sport at age 45 were seminal events of the 20th century. His name is perhaps most connected, however, to his successful move into the commercial world with the George Foreman Grill. Read our full obituary.
- Quarterback Jameis Winston agreed to a two-year, $8 million contract with the New York Giants worth up to $16 million with incentives. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers visited the Pittsburgh Steelers and met with coaches yesterday, but left without a deal.
- Lewis Hamilton won the first sprint race of the 2025 Formula One season (in Shanghai), marking his first victory with Ferrarisince joining the team over the winter.
- Organizers of tennis’ Grand Slams rejected a proposal by the leaders of the ATP and WTA to restructure the sport’s governance, calendar and player pay. More details here.
- Major League Baseball said it is “evaluating” its once-lauded Diversity Pipeline Program and removed the word “diversity”from various places where it used to appear on the MLB Careers home page, Carson Kessler reports.
- Free-agent pitcher Julio Urías is suspended through the 2025 All-Star break for violating MLB’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy, commissioner Rob Manfred announced yesterday.
📫 Love the Pulse? Check out our other newsletters.
What to Watch
📺 NCAAW: No. 10 Harvard vs. No. 7 Michigan State
4:30 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS
It’s the second day of the round of 64. The Athletic’s Ben Pickman likes Harvard as a potential double-digit seed to make the Sweet 16. The Crimson (+5.5, per BetMGM) generate lots of turnovers. Guard Harmoni Turner dropped 44 on Princeton in the Ivy League semis and 24 against Columbia the next day. MSU hasn’t gotten past the first round since 2019.
📺 NBA: Warriors vs. Hawks
7 p.m. ET on NBA TV
We love March Madness, but a consistent showcase of world-class ball movement and jump-shooting prowess, it is not. If you crave a dose of basketball precision, help yourself to some Steph Curry and the reborn Warriors during tournament commercial breaks.
📺 NCAAM: No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 1 Houston
8:40 p.m. ET on TNT
The round of 32 arrives. We’ll all gravitate to whichever game is close, but I’m enamored by this one. The Cougars are defensive beasts, and Gonzaga — No. 7 in Ken Pomeroy’s ratings — is an annoying second-round draw. I smell at least a scare for UH.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
The weekend vibes continue here, where we’ll both showcase our favorite content from The Athletic and share authentic recommendations for things we simply enjoyed.
Pistachio milk in coffee. — Chris Branch
The Athletic’s weekly sports news quiz, which is quickly becoming a staple.
“On the Grid” by our F1 writer, Luke Smith. Got my copy this week. Lots of smile-inducing stories. — Patrick Iversen
The newly released version of Out of the Park Baseball. — Alex Kirshner
This week’s NWSL-WNBA crossover episode of our “Full Time” podcast, where Ben Pickman told Meg Linehan he gets as many questions about Ellie the Elephant as he does the WNBA’s star players.
The “Severance” finale. — Jayna Bardahl
The new song “Deep End” by Canadian metal band Spiritbox. — Jason Kirk
This tortellini soup on a cold day. — Torrey Hart
Jim Bowden’s 2025 All-MLB Breakout Team, a roster of promising players to watch this season.
The best ball if you want to kick a soccer ball around your house with little kids and not break a thing. — Chris Sprow
Most-clicked in yesterday’s newsletter: Zac Jackson’s newser with the latest on the spat between the Browns and the city of Cleveland.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Our men’s NCAA Tournament first-round live blog.
(Top photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
