Sports
Hello, Fernando. Also, breaking down the Daniels mess
The Pulse Newsletter 
Good morning! Be mad about a win today. Coming up:
While You Were Sleeping: The No. 1 pick might be good
What an evening of mostly meaningless football we enjoyed last night. I, for one, was simply happy to have multiple games’ highlights to watch late into the evening. It was comforting.
There was plenty of meaning in Las Vegas last night, though, as No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza saw his first NFL action. And the dude was uncorking throws like this (video pause is for emphasis):
Fernando Mendoza threading the needle!
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/PC9UPZvRxA
— NFL (@NFL) August 14, 2026
Mendoza threw a touchdown later in the game and generally looked sharp. It’s easy to wonder when he starts this year, with all apologies to Kirk Cousins, who looked great in his one drive last night.
More on Mendoza’s debut here. Let’s keep moving:
News to Know
Emilee Chinn / Getty Images
In Iowa, corny Schwarbombs
Kyle Schwarber hit two homers into the cornfields last night in the Phillies’ 7-1 win over the Twins during MLB’s annual Field of Dreams game. It was a fun atmosphere for baseball, with the teams donning throwback jerseys and players looking legitimately happy to be there. Read our full story from the corn.
Seahawks to sign Arnold
Seattle is expected to sign cornerback Terrion Arnold despite his legal troubles, a source told The Athletic. A clip from “Hard Knocks” this week showed the Seahawks expect the 23-year-old to be able to play in the preseason. Arnold, a first-round pick by the Lions in 2024, was released earlier this offseason after his arrest on charges of kidnapping and robbery. More in our full report.
Świątek, Shelton win in Canada
Iga Świątek and Ben Shelton won the respective women’s and men’s Canadian Open titles yesterday, both notable in their own manners. Świątek won at the tour level for the first time since September 2025, and in a blowout at that. For Shelton, it’s his second straight Canadian Open title, and somehow this is the first men’s ATP Masters 1000 event with every quarterfinalist born in 2000 or after. Yikes for me.
More news:
- Liberty forward Satou Sabally will step away from the team indefinitely to deal with a lingering head injury. More details here.
- The Bears say their “sole focus” is a new stadium in Indiana. I still can’t believe they’re leaving Soldier Field.
- Troy Aikman downplayed any conflict of interest between his job as an ESPN analyst and his job as a Dolphins consultant. Hm.
- Bradley Beal is back with the Clippers on a two-year deal. Read more.
- Reds pitcher Hunter Greene will likely miss all of 2027 after having another elbow surgery Wednesday. That’s tough.
- Benches cleared during the Reds’ win over the White Sox yesterday after Chicago starter Davis Martin plunked Sal Stewart in the helmet. The melee really messed up Chicago’s pitching, too.
- Jack Draper said his chronic arm pain is sapping his spirit on the tennis court. Brutal.
Monitoring 
Justin Ford / Getty Images
It’s Friday, which means we’re back monitoring. And I — sigh — must start with the brouhaha at my alma mater.
What’s in a number? Lawyers for Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels issued a cease-and-desist letter to LSU, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 2023, late Wednesday, demanding the school stop using Daniels’ name, image and likeness.
The entire tiff stems from Daniels’ displeasure with LSU for issuing No. 5, the number he wore there, to sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett. Daniels’ family thought the school would preserve No. 5 to honor the quarterback. It’s a layered mess, but two points you should know:
- Daniels, on the surface, has a point. He and Joe Burrow both won the Heisman at LSU. No one has worn No. 9 at LSU since. So why did No. 5 get issued, but not No. 9?
- We could argue the merits of Burrow versus Daniels until I collapse from sadness. Burrow won a title in Baton Rouge; Daniels did not. Burrow had a good team around him; it’s not Daniels’ fault that his defense allowed 34 points per game against Power 4 schools his Heisman year.
And yet, the conflict really goes back to former LSU coach Brian Kelly promising the number to Pickett (who’s really good!) during the recruiting process. Read our full story on the tiff here. I’ll be burying my head in the sand.
A swimming superstar. Summer McIntosh is already a household name in the swimming world, but if she continues at her current pace, her stardom might leap into the mainstream consciousness. The 19-year-old, who already has three Olympic gold medals and four world records, easily won the 400-meter individual medley at last night’s Pan Pacific Championships — and was pissed about it. Really.
She owns 10 of the fastest 11 times ever in the 400 IM. In the wake of her pace, Sarah Shepherd asked everyone how she’s so good.
- Across the ocean, Italy’s Sara Curtis set the 50-meter backstroke record … twice in two days.
RIP, Da Beauty League. I adored our story this week about a summer hockey league in Minnesota that’s drawn some of the biggest names in the sport. Thousands of people watch, money goes to charity and the trophy is a keg. This summer, the league’s founders are deciding to go out on top.
Appreciating two basketball kings. Don Nelson’s death and Russell Westbrook’s retirement didn’t get the shine from us each deserved. I’d like to right that, via two stories:
- Marcus Thompson II wrote of Nelson’s brilliance, which outshone his memorable personality. The legendary coach never lost the ability to find and develop talent where others failed. Make time for this today.
- As for Westbrook, leave it to David Aldridge to appreciate that a man who played as loudly as Westbrook left the league without saying a word. I’ll miss watching Russ play. So will his former teammate Kevin Durant.
“Ted Lasso” and a coaching problem. Spoilers ahead here, but I found this thread quite interesting, actually. In the Apple TV show, the titular character is a man who’s now found two soccer jobs without having much experience. In the show’s fourth season, however, he’s coaching the women’s team … and supplanting a woman in charge. It shone a light on a very real-life issue in women’s sports.
Thank you for monitoring. Almost to the weekend:
Watch Guide
2:20 p.m. ET on Apple TV
Chicago is charging in the NL Central, just four games back of the Brewers amid an 8-2 run over its last 10. Midday baseball on a Friday is nice.
7 p.m. ET on NFL Network
All you probably need to know for this game: Watch No. 31.
7:30 p.m. ET on Ion
Let’s hope the storylines stick to the court here, and it’s always fun to watch Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd play against Caitlin Clark and a stacked Fever team. Indiana is at the fascinating nexus of chaos and competence.
8 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Never a bad idea to watch the NWSL’s top team, Gotham, play.
Pulse Picks
Michael Reaves / Getty Images
Worth a read this Friday: CJ Moore’s piece yesterday with new Mavericks coach Dusty May, who said college basketball is a sport where “nothing’s getting fixed.” Read this.
I missed this incredible story earlier in the week about Bears coach Ben Johnson, whose schedule made me sweat.
The A’s should be better by now. Ken Rosenthal has three ideas to fix them.
A board game is popping up all over the NBA, NHL and NFL: Catan.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The White Sox pope hats.
Most-read on the website yesterday: The “Ted Lasso” story above.
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