The Rams' ugly (and important) win, plus The Pulse hits 1,000

News to Know

Soto wants to build ‘a dynasty’
Juan Soto made his first appearance as a Met yesterday, telling reporters in his introductory news conference he expects to win multiple championships in Queens. It’s a bold look for a franchise with two titles in 63 seasons of existence, but it’s befitting of the man who signed the biggest contract in pro sports history. See his full comments here.

Stolarz leaves game
Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz left last night’s 3-2 Toronto win over the Ducks with a lower-body injury, which would be a huge blow for one of the NHL’s best teams. Stolarz is No. 2 in the league in save percentage (.927) and is having the best season of his career. Also on the NHL injury front, with the other team in that game: Ducks center Trevor Zegras will miss at least six weeks after undergoing knee surgery.

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The Good Bets: We are losing it

Last weekend, even fading myself didn’t really work. I swear this year’s picks were profitable at some point. Let’s try to gain some ground back, quickly:

College

• Army and Navy OVER 39
  The Black Knights should win, but this game is always unpredictable in the best way. I am betting on points, please.
  
• South Alabama and Western Michigan UNDER 57.5
  Both of these teams have suffered significant losses to the transfer portal, so I’m assuming points will not be aplenty here. Betting on bowl games is folly, yet here I am spending fake dollars on the Salute to Veterans Bowl. 

Read more: Full bowl schedule (and odds) 

NFL

• Dolphins and Texans UNDER 47
  Miami’s offense has been good since Tua Tagovailoa returned, but Houston has a good defense and a meh offensive unit. Another recipe for defensive struggle.
  
• Commanders (-7.5) at Saints
  Sigh. I will be in the Superdome for this game. New Orleans has big injury issues and Washington is back to being a bulldozer. Should be an easy 10-point win. 

Read more: Best bets | Expert picks

Pulse record overall: 21-32-1

Milestones: 1,000 Pulses

When I started at The Athletic in late 2021, we simply hoped to build a good daily newsletter that would become part of your daily routine. Three years later, over 2.5 million subscribers are receiving this 1,000th edition. I could cry. 

Before we get to your responses, I wanted to share an eye-popping number: Since January 2022, we have sent 1.79 billion Pulse emails to subscribers. Thank you for reading, and thank you to everyone who answered our survey earlier this week. 

So many of your responses about how this newsletter fits into your daily routine (the, ahem, entire routine, it seems) made me emotional. I read every response. Two that really struck a chord: 

💬 Earlier this year I was feeling addicted to my phone and deleted all of my social media on a whim. The Pulse has been such a refreshing way to get my sports news every morning and reminded me of the value of true journalism. … I’ve read more full articles this year than I have in a long time. Storytelling is what connected me to sports as a child, and there is so much beauty found in the telling of a good story.

💬 First newsletter I open in the morning. Toddler wakes up at 5 a.m. every day. On the dot. We’ll play for the first hour of the day then we let him watch some TV. This is my time for The Pulse. He sits in his chair, I sit on the sofa and read the newsletter.

I would be this parent if I were on the other side of the screen. Now let’s dish on your worst food takes with a Pulse verdict on each: 

• “Mayo and strawberries go great together with a glass of orange juice.” Verdict: Side-eye.
  
• “Eggs are a binder. Not something to eat by itself.” Impressed with the tenacity of this one.
  
• “Not very interested in food.” Bold.
  
• “Sbarro is GREAT pizza!” Is that you, Michael Scott?
  
• “Cheddar cheese on apple pie is better than vanilla ice cream.” I respect this.
  
• “I eat subs from the outside in. Like, I go all the way in a circle around the outside, then I eat the middle last.” I’ll be thinking about this for weeks. In a good way.
  
• “Deep fried ice cream with BBQ eel is delicious. Some sushi restaurants will make it for you!” I think I’m into this.
  
• “The yellow Starburst is the best flavor.” Absurd.
  
• “Potato chips in applesauce is an elite combo.” I went full Kombucha girl meme here.
  
• “Strawberry seafood salad. Give it a think.” I gave it a think and am haunted by it. 

Thank you, all of you, for reading. I’m grabbing tissues. Let’s move on: