The Pulse NewsletterđŁ | This is The Athleticâs daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.
Good morning! Score some points today.
While You Were Sleeping: A true snoozer
This week had already seen the seasonâs first shutout and some first-half scorigami, but now it also features the lowest-scoring game of the NFL season: last nightâs 6-3 puntfest, in which the Seahawks kept their postseason hunt alive.
- We donât need to dwell here, but the Bears lost their 10th straight game â and looked the part, gaining just 179 yards. In the messy final seconds, Caleb Williams threw his first pick in his last 354 passes.
- Seattle now needs the Cardinals to beat the Rams tomorrow to set up a Week 18 matchup for the NFC West crown. More scenarios here.
There was some relevant late-night news, though: Former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is interested in the Bearsâ head-coaching role, per Jeff Howe. Intriguing.
Meanwhile, all the excitement was in college football, as bowl season has a new overtimes record: Toledo beat Pitt 48-46 in six OTs. Onward:
Across The Pond: Man U is ⊠dead? Read on
Imagine the Kansas City Chiefs sitting at .500 while the Panthers are 11-4. We have a version! There are many wacky concurrent storylines in the English Premier League right now. Example: Modern dynasty Manchester City sit seventh in the table. They havenât finished lower than fifth going on 15 years. Nottingham Forest got promoted in 2022. They sit third! đ€Ż
Boxing Day means weâre approaching halfway. The indomitable Phil Hay is here to make sense of it.
City at seventh melts our brain. On the Leicester Scale of Impossible, where would this team finishing outside Champions League stand?
Phil:Â At the start of the season, 11 on steroids. Now? More like seven or eight because they just cannot turn the corner. I suspect theyâll get there but this has been a weapons-grade meltdown.
Liverpool are now clear favorites. Biggest threat to them?
Arsenal. Chelsea have wild-card potential, and I wouldnât discount them, but Arsenal are getting on a bit of a roll for the first time, and thatâs where pressure is likely to come from.
Man U sits in 14th â FOURTEENTH â after another bad defeat. Where do they finish?
Iâd park (new manager) Ruben Amorim and United until next season. He can make small, incremental differences with this squad, but unless the club sort out their recruitment big time, it wonât go well for him.
Want more Prem? Read Phil in The Athletic FC every day, free to your inbox.
News to Know
Butler staying put
Heat president Pat Riley declared yesterday the team âwill not trade Jimmy Butler,â adding that the rumors have âbecome a distraction to the team.â ESPN reported earlier this week that the six-time All-Star prefers to be relocated by the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Butler, 35, has been out since Dec. 20 and could miss more time due to illness. Read the full report.
Bridgewater back in NFL
Veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has signed with the Lions, weeks after coaching his Florida high school alma mater to a state title. Bridgewater started coaching the team in February and said he plans to return to the role after the NFL season. The 32-year-old played for six teams, including Detroit, over his decade-long first stint in the league before retiring after the 2023 season.
More news:
- Miami menâs basketball coach Jim Larrañaga resigned yesterday, citing the challenges of the NIL era, less than two years after leading the Hurricanes to their first Final Four.
- After a 13-17-4 start to the season, the Red Wings fired head coach Derek Lalonde and hired Todd McLellan to fill the position.
- Two-time NWSL champion and UWSNT midfielder Yazmeen Ryan was traded from NJ/NY Gotham FC to the Houston Dash for a historic fee.
- The NFL MVP odds tightened up significantly after Lamar Jacksonâs Christmas Day performance: Josh Allen is now a -250 favorite, while Jackson has narrowed the gap at +160.
- The Lakers-Warriors matchup on Christmas drew 7.76 million viewers, making it the most-watched NBA regular-season game in five years.
Merry GIFmas: GIF sâhousery
Letâs, er, wrap up this weekâs GIFs series today. I hope youâve enjoyed them as much as we have. Friday treats inbound:
Wish No. 6: Chris Branch, The Pulse
đ I just want to win next yearâs Thanksgiving food draft.
From Emily Olsen:
This Portland Thorns Sophia Smith GIF is the perfect fit for your wish. Smith provided plenty of gold medal-worthy moments this year for the U.S., but this moment of meme fodder displayed her skills in shâhousery.
Three minutes after Smith was subbed out of a game against North Carolina, she attempted to hide a ball that was kicked out of play. The moment earned her a second yellow, resulting in suspension, but cemented herself in NWSL lore.Â
I have a feeling youâll have to take a page out of the book of dark arts, authored by Megan Rapinoe, to wrangle a win this time next year after selecting cornbread dressing this yearâŠ
Wish No. 7: Patrick Iversen, Prime Tire
đ My wish for Formula One in 2025 is for the sportâs governing body, the FIA, to recede into the background a bit more. Fewer rules controversies, fewer random firings, fewer âswear jars.â Let the amazing year of racing ahead take and keep the mic.
From Torrey Hart:
I can sort of relate here, because I try to stick to my strengths as an editor â and that means mostly staying out of the way when it comes to fun F1 things, like your newsletter! I hope you get your wish.Â
The Good Bets: Pop-Tarts, prospects and positioning
If these picks flop, donât hold them against Branchâs totals. Just for fun, I (Jason) am picking nothing but Saturday football. Lines via BetMGM.
College
- No. 13 Miami (-3.5) vs. No. 18 Iowa State
Counting on the erratic Canes to be normal. Frightening! Outside of the Playoff, this game boasts two of bowl seasonâs four biggest draws: potential No. 1 pick Cam Ward and Pop-Tarts Bowl spectacle, now with working toaster trophy. - No. 17 BYU vs. No. 23 Colorado OVER 54.5
And here we have the other two biggest draws: Heisman winner Travis Hunter and yet another potential No. 1 pick, Shedeur Sanders. (Wagering theory: Deion goes for a high-scoring game in his QB sonâs college finale.)
Read more: Bowl schedule | Playoff projections
NFL
- Bengals (-3) vs. Broncos
NFL passing-yardage leader Joe Burrow and company somehow still have a shot at the playoffs. Feels like the No. 7 seed nobody would want to play. - Patriots (+4) vs. Chargers
Cross-country trips are especially rough on West Coast teams that have to kick off at 1 p.m. ET. Los Angeles likely gets the win, but the score might not be beautiful.
Read more:Â Expert picks
Pulse record overall: 25-36-1
Watch and Play
đș NHL: Colorado at Utah
9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN 2
Come for the good divisional matchup and stay to further scout the Utah Hockey Club, which has produced a respectable season in Year 1. There is hope within a once-frustrated franchise.
đș CFB: Texas A&M vs. USC
10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
This is the Las Vegas Bowl, where two big-name programs retreat after disappointing seasons. The Trojans have suffered significant portal losses already, too. Watch for mess.
Try todayâs Connections: Sports Edition beta.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
Ahead of that Alamo Bowl tomorrow, Don Pompei talked to 10 people who worked with Deion Sanders during his NFL days to try to connect the dots between Neon Deion and Coach Prime. Insightful.
Jayson Stark dropped Part I of his Strange But True 2024 series yesterday, featuring MLBâs team, game, inning and homer of the year. Today, he has the weirdest injuries of 2024.
Perfect for weekend browsing: Our collectibles staff shared the top five trading card buys from their personal collections this year.
Mark Lazerus argues itâs time for the NHL to think bolder with its Winter Classic venues, as it did for the Lake Tahoe game in 2021. He has 10 modest proposals.
A low-fuss NYT Cooking recipe to help you recover from this week: lemony pearl barley soup. (But also, if you need, here are 26 latke recipes.)
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The link at which the full replay of BeyoncĂ©âs Christmas halftime show will eventually arrive on Netflix. Checks out.
Most-read on the website yesterday: A somewhat oldie, but a goodie: Zak Keeferâs profile of Troy Aikman from September.
(Top photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
