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Good morning! Don’t take a PS5 from a kid today.
Even More M-E-S-S:Â Jets lore somehow gets worse
Before today, I did not think any new story about the Jets could surprise me. We’ve long known the team — from players to the front office to ownership — has been a disaster for at very least the last two years.
But when I read this story from Zack Rosenblatt, Michael Silver and Dianna Russini today, I found myself cackling at some points and agog at others. A few highlights (lowlights?) that floored me:
- This piece focuses on owner Woody Johnson, who has been quite … hands-on. What I did not expect to learn is the influence of his teen sons, Brick and Jack, whose love for the Madden franchise seems to influence the owner of this NFL team.
- No, seriously, our reporting revealed that the Jets owner nixed a trade for Jerry Jeudy last offseason because the receiver’s EA Sports rating was too low. It’s not the only time video game ratings have factored into their personnel decisions, either.
- Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, usually the lightning rod in this saga, comes off pretty harmless here, which says a lot. According to our reporting, the opinionated QB was urging patience whenever the owner wanted to make a hasty move early this season, like firing coach Robert Saleh.
Staggering examples of dysfunction abound in the full story, which is worth your time this morning. I left the story wondering if any top-flight NFL coaching candidate would want to inherit this mess.
We’ll see.
Things You Need to See: Art is everywhere
Let’s move to something a little lighter, aka maybe the best fake punt I’ve ever seen. Look at what UNLV pulled last night in the LA Bowl:
FAKE PUNT ALERTTTTT
đź“ş: ESPN pic.twitter.com/OFkticWO8j
— UNLV Football (@unlvfootball) December 19, 2024
Devilish and simple, like all gadget football plays should be. UNLV beat Cal in the game 24-13 to finish the year 11-3. The Pulse approves all around.
News to Know
Rodman dishes on dad
USWNT star Trinity Rodman has always been careful when talking about her famous father, NBA legend Dennis Rodman. But in an interview on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast yesterday, Rodman opened up on the topic, saying she has “anger” toward her father for his lack of presence in her life. The 22-year-old also said Dennis is “not a dad. Maybe by blood, but nothing else.” Her full comments are worth a read.
Arenado says no
Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado used the no-trade clause in his contract to nix a move to Houston yesterday, though sources told The Athletic a possible deal isn’t dead. Arenado simply wants more time this offseason to decide his future. What the failed move does signal is the Astros’ belief that franchise cornerstone Alex Bregman is likely heading elsewhere in free agency. See more details in our report here.
More news
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Bad PR: Just give the kid a PS5
Welcome back to Bad PR, where we collectively wince at some cringey public stumbles from your favorite sports teams and/or figures. This week had some doozies:Â
- We start in Charlotte, where, incredibly, the Hornets produced an in-game skit in which their mascot Hugo — dressed as Santa — gave a young boy a PlayStation 5. After the skit, team officials confiscated the PS5 and instead gave the boy a jersey. They have since apologized and made good on the PS5. Wince rating: đź« đź« đź« đź«
- Let’s turn next to the UW-Green Bay men’s basketball head coach Doug Gottlieb, who referred to smaller schools as “Nobody U” right before losing to Division II team Michigan Tech and falling to 2-11. (Yes, he’s somehow still doing his media jobs in addition to coaching.) And this came a day after he got into an unfortunate social media spat with ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Wince rating: đź« đź« đź« đź« đź« đź«
- Woof city. Let’s keep moving:
Watch and Play
đź“ş NFL: Broncos at Chargers
8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video
This game is already controversial: The league flexed this from a Sunday kick to a Thursday game, altering the plans of everybody who hoped to attend. Executives and fans are furious about it, and there are some heartbreaking examples in this story. On the field, at least, this is a big game for playoff seeding.
đź“ş NBA: Knicks at Timberwolves
9:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Will we see more bad blood here between the two teams who pulled off the blockbuster trade of the offseason? Probably not, as I suspect the Minnesota love for Karl-Anthony Towns to drown that out.Â
Get tickets to games like these here.
🎧 “Scoop City” made an emergency episode last night in light of the Jets story above. Dianna and Chase helped answer my biggest question: Where do any of these people involved go from here? Listen now.
Pulse Picks
About that Sergio PĂ©rez news earlier: Luke Smith explains how being Max Verstappen’s teammate is the hardest job in F1.Â
The transfer portal isn’t all glitz. Ralph Russo has an interesting story about how some teams went bargain-hunting for a quarterback — and found great value.Â
Michael Vick is heading to Norfolk State. We looked at how other NFL stars turned coaches fared at HBCUs.Â
A huge issue in baseball — starting pitchers’ arm health — became even bigger yesterday, as an MLB report on the topic exposed the complex problem that, as Andy McCullough writes, presents few easy solutions.Â
A match that pits the PGA Tour’s Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy against LIV’s Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka is extremely juicy on the surface. Brody Miller argues “The Showdown” was not the drama we expected, but it still provided some value.Â
A follow on yesterday’s NFL mini-mock draft: Oddsmakers also expect Shedeur Sanders to go No. 1. See the full odds here.Â
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on ESPN possibly extending the runtime of “Pardon the Interruption” after “Around the Horn” exits the airwaves.Â
Most-read on the website yesterday: The big investigation into why “golden boy” Lee Fitting was dismissed from ESPN.
(Top photo: Barry Reeger / Imagn Images)
