👋 Good morning! Jake Gyllenhaal makes an appearance in today's edition. Let's sports.
Today's word count: 1,819 words (7 minutes).
👋 Good morning! Jake Gyllenhaal makes an appearance in today's edition. Let's sports.
Today's word count: 1,819 words (7 minutes).
The NBA just completed a historic season that required the league to shutter its arenas. Now, it will help execute a historic election by re-opening them to voters.
Catch up quick: Voting was an important issue for players inside the bubble, with PSAs airing during playoff games and teams wearing warm-up shirts with "VOTE" written across the chest.
Why it matters: The momentum created by the NBA has extended to other leagues, culminating in the largest political effort the sports world has ever seen.
The state of play: Over 40 sports venues across 20 states will function as polling centers for the upcoming election. A few examples:
Reality check: If arenas aren't team-owned, local election officials have the final say on whether they can be converted. Not all teams got approval.
The big picture: In addition to helping make in-stadium voting a reality, athletes like LeBron James are also working to fight voter suppression.
The bottom line: A record number of Americans will vote by mail this year, but for the millions still headed to the polls, sports venues could provide a safer and quicker option than traditional polling sites like schools and churches.
Go deeper: Stadium voting center details (ESPN)
Braves 8, Dodgers 7 (ATL leads 2-0) — The Braves are the fourth MLB team to ever start a postseason with seven straight wins, joining the 2014 Royals, 2007 Rockies and 1976 Reds.
Rays 5, Astros 2 (TB leads 3-0) — Thanks in part to José Altuve's third throwing error in two days (after having zero all season), Tampa Bay is one win away from advancing to its second World Series in franchise history.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Over 200 college sports programs have been cut since the pandemic began wreaking havoc on athletic budgets, altering the lives of thousands of student athletes and coaches, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.
The state of play: The cuts mostly comprise non-revenue sports like tennis, golf, cross country and swimming.
Between the lines: While schools claim these are money-saving decisions, critics view the reluctance to touch where the real fat sits — in the football budget — as proof that the NCAA model no longer provides broad-based opportunities.
The other side: While these cuts are bleak, they could also reinvigorate the of-forgotten club sports ecosystem, as many varsity programs will transition to club rather than disappear altogether.
The bottom line: The fallout of these cuts is varied and far-reaching, but dig just beneath the surface and you'll find there's some reason for optimism, too.
Photo: Frederick Breedon/Getty Images
Titans 42, Bills 16 — Despite practicing just three times in 16 days, Ryan Tannehill (4 TD) and Tennessee blew out Buffalo to remain undefeated.
More NFL:
Giphy
Several recent Stanley Cup winners have broken up their championship cores this offseason, as teams deal with the harsh realities of a flat salary cap, Jeff writes.
Notable departures:
Go deeper:
Giphy
It's Amazon Prime Day (for the second day in a row), so we figured we'd help guide you toward a few of the best sports deals, Jeff writes.
Indoor:
Lawn games:
Electronics:
Kids:
San Marino. Photo: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Photo: Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images
41 years ago today, Oilers rookie Wayne Gretzky scored his first NHL goal, a weak dribbler between the legs of Canucks goalie Glen Hanlon.
By the numbers: "The Great One" scored 893 more goals in his NHL career, the most of any player. The all-time leaders:
Wild stat: Gretzky also recorded 1,963 career assists, which is so far beyond everyone else that he'd still be the NHL's all-time points leader even if he never scored a single goal. Lol, absurd.
Go deeper: How Ovechkin could pass Gretzky (Axios)
Clemson's Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne are Heisman Trophy favorites entering the weekend.
Answer at the bottom.
Courtesy: HarperCollins
To celebrate National Book Month, we're highlighting one new sports book each day this week.
Matt Hart's "Win at All Costs" dives into the shady world of Nike's Oregon Project, a professional running club that came crashing down amid doping violations and a culture of lying and gender discrimination, Jeff writes.
The backdrop: The Oregon Project was formed in 2001 and helmed by three-time NYC marathon winner Alberto Salazar. After years of scrutiny, it folded in 2019 when Salazar was banned from the sport for four years for doping violations.
Discrimination: Though Salazar is appealing his ban, the program's treatment of female athletes is more troubling anyway. Kara Goucher's salary was docked tens of thousands of dollars after she became pregnant, and Mary Cain was pressured to lose weight so relentlessly that she contemplated suicide.
"'Win at All Costs' reads like a James Bond thriller, plumbing the sad depths of professional running's underworld."— NYT bestselling author Dan Shaughnessy
Talk tomorrow,
Kendall "Oh no, the poor Astros" Baker
Trivia answer: FSU QB Chris Weinke (2000), FSU QB Jameis Winston (2013), Louisville QB Lamar Jackson (2016)