The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.
Good morning! Time to hit the sticks.
Video Games? Why ‘College Football 26’ means we’re really back
Over the last few days, The Athletic has paid me to play a video game, EA Sports’ “College Football 26.” It’s a great game, and seems like a vast improvement on last year’s re-debut. It was also strangely emotional.
Before I get to my review, let’s start with the latter point:
- For may college football fans around, say, 25-45, EA’s NCAA Football franchise was a ritual every year. In its first major run from 1997-2013, the game became a social phenomenon. Some of my fondest memories are staying up late with my best friends in high school playing the game.
- That run ended because of what we now know as an NIL issue, which has been somewhat sorted out in this new era of college football. Now, players are paid, and their real names are on the backs of their jerseys in the game. So long, QB #13. Hello, properly compensated LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.
- The fact that this sequel game is here — and improved, by the way — hit me unexpectedly. This is really happening every year again, and a new generation of middle-school and high-school kids will hopefully have similar experiences. While I’m not chugging energy drinks at 1 a.m. while running roughshod over my friends with C.J. Spiller, I feel more connected as a college football fan again. Very cool.
I asked The Athletic’s Chris Vannini, a reviewer and in-house expert on the game, why it’s important:
“Video game culture is pop culture, and a lot of people got back into watching real college football through the video game. For any sport to survive and thrive in the future, it always needs a new generation of fans. This helps.”
Now, about the game: It has an obviously similar gameplay to last year’s game, with noticeable small improvements. Motions are smoothed a little bit. College coaches are now in the game. But I want to focus briefly on the new Road to Glory mode, inspired by Jason Kirk’s excellent review earlier this week, because I had a blast with it. Four things that happened:
- I made my name Chris Blaze and decided to be a total jerk.
- I started as a blue-chip recruit and immediately tanked myself down to a two-star.
- I still told Brian Kelly I never wanted to play for LSU anyway (a lie) after he said I wouldn’t get an offer.
- I committed to Tulane, but on Signing Day I faked picking the Green Wave hat (a thing you can actually do) and instead opted for Nebraska.
I am biding my time behind Dylan Raiola, but sad to report the game does not think Nebraska will be good. I plan to transfer four times, though.
It’s a good game. Let’s keep moving:
News to Know
More NBA funny money
Chet Holmgren and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to a five-year max extension yesterday that could be worth up to $250 million. It comes eight days after the franchise signed MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to a $285 million supermax extension, and Jalen Williams’ payday is coming soon, too. Next year is the last season before this team becomes prohibitively expensive, as our experts wrote.
- Also in extension news last night: Devin Booker signed a two-year, $145 million max extension to stay in Phoenix. I’ll stay in any bad situation for $72 million a year. Booker is still just 28 and will have made over $520 million by the end of this deal, when he’ll be just 32. Excuse me while I fall over repeatedly.
It’s Sinner vs. Djokovic
Poor Ben Shelton. The last remaining American man at Wimbledon bowed out in the quarterfinals yesterday against world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, which gives Shelton an unfortunate streak: The only two players to defeat him in Grand Slams this year are Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who have combined to win the past six slams in all. Awaiting Sinner in the semifinal: Novak Djokovic, who outlasted the upstart Flavio Cobolli yesterday. Their rivalry is … eerie.
More news
- Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 in the Kylian Mbappe derby. It was surgical.
- Former NCAA wrestler and MMA fighter Ben Askren said he “died four times” before receiving a lung transplant.
- The Yankees designated DJ LeMahieu for assignment one day after benching him. They still owe LeMahieu a lot of money.
- A new report says the 2026 World Cup will be the “most climate polluting in history.” Gulp. More details here.
- Lionel Messi is back dominating MLS … all while a Saudi club makes a strong push for the legend. DealSheet has the scoop.
- The “NBA2K26” cover athletes are here: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Angel Reese and Carmelo Anthony. See the full cover here.
📫 Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters.
Oddities: How did these cards get made?
Scores of trading cards are printed every year and shipped around the world. Some have value. Most don’t. The cards that earn status do so mostly through the feats of whatever player graces the front.
Others are valuable for their mistakes.
I could not stop cackling through this roundup of unflattering cards yesterday, inspired by a recent sale of a Bronny James card that accidentally has “LEAVE” printed across the front. Thus, Brooks Peck went and found the 17 “worst” cards to ever exist.
I’d like to share the two that earned guffaws from yours truly:
Blake Griffin was past his prime at this point, but that didn’t mean Mosaic had to make him look like a disproportionate cartoon character. Why is head so big? Why did they pick this facial expression to blow up? Sorry, Blake, but this is hilarious.
And then there’s Bill Pecota:
Fleer Baseball should be prosecuted for this. Hey Bill, here’s your card! It looks like you’re striking out!
The card does, however, add to Pecota’s unique place in baseball lore, as the nine-year journeyman finished with a .249 career average and inspired the name of the projection model PECOTA, which projects player output every year.
See all the cards here. I would like someone to print an unflattering card of me one day. OK, almost done:
What to Watch
📺 Wimbledon: Sabalenka vs. Anisimova
8:30 a.m. ET on ESPN
The No. 1 seed takes on the last remaining American in this semifinal matchup. The other semi, Iga Świątek against Belinda Bencic, follows directly after. Another good morning of tennis.
📺 MLB: Mariners at Yankees
7:05 p.m. ET on MLB Network
Aaron Judge vs. The Big Dumper. Two good teams. Just watch it.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
I was floored by this feature on Jojo and Jacob Parker, the identical twins who could be first-round picks in next week’s MLB Draft. They couldn’t play catch with their dad, but Jop Parker got his sons here anyway. Make time for this.
Sam Amick wrote a fascinating notebook about the scene in Los Angeles, where both the Lakers and Clippers have prioritized flexibility this offseason with the future in mind. The question is: Who ends up with the star at the end?
To hear the Astros talk about rookie star Cam Smith is to get secondhand goosebumps. He was special from his introduction to the team.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Tim Graham’s story on the Bills’ uneasy political dance with Canada. Read it here.
Most-read on the website yesterday: The story on Christian Horner’s shock firing yesterday, which had all of F1 talking.
(Top photo: Cover courtesy of EA Sports)
