The Pulse newsletter 📣 | It is Athletics’s daily sports newsletter. Register here to receive The Pulse straight to your inbox.
Good morning! Today: We present to you a multitude of viewing options and you can find all the latest sports news here.
While you were unpacking: it was all a flow
When the NFL gave Christmas broadcast keys to Netflix and Prime last offseason, it initially seemed like an unavoidable crusade. Put on your August expectations hat and think about these teams: Dallas! Washington! Detroit! Minnesota! Denver! Kansas City! We refuse to apologize for excessive exclamation points. These six teams had 73 regular season wins last year. This was going to be a foolproof thing.
Welp. Fast forward…
“Christmas Vacation” had much the same playoff tension yesterday. (The shit was full!) Of the six, Denver is the only team that will see significant football in Januaryand the Broncos met the Zombie Chiefs last night, who started Chris Oladokun at QB. Entering the game, his profile: 28 years old, 11 completed passes in his career, abandoned four times. A quick summary:
- Dallas can finish .500… with a tie! Even Jason Garrett can’t claim that mid-level. A win next week brings Dallas to a heck of an 8-8-1. Art. The Cowboys Washington submergedalso in third-string QB mode. Playoff implications? No!
- The Lions are officially absent. Detroit, winner of 15 regular-season games in 2024, needed a win at Minnesota to keep its faint playoff hopes alive. Six turnovers laterwe have an update… Playoff Implications: Lions eliminated. I entered the game at 4 percent, exited at 0. The real winner? Green Bay. Place for the playoffs: 🔒
-
Travis Kelce’s last home game? Maybe. Denver moved closer to AFC No. 1 seed in a game where the Chiefs gained 139 yards. Total. Playoff Implications: Not much. The leaders were out. The Broncos, at 13-3, are gunning for first place.
Here is your updated photo from the NFL playoffs. Meanwhile, the “race” for the No. 1 pick has four participants. Something else we’re watching: Can Lamar Jackson play this week? We will see.
Elsewhere at Christmas…
A new NBA title contender emerges
Are the Spurs not only contenders in the Western Conference but (😮) title suitors? It sounds weird to say that out loud. Reminder: Spurs won 34 games last season – but they do this thing where they just keep beating the Thunder. Suddenly San Antonio is just 2 1/2 games behind Oklahoma City (26-5) in the West. Reasonable people ask: Are the Spurs young (but tall) the best team in the NBA?
There were several other interesting NBA results yesterday, including another Cavs collapse. Find out more about all this right here.
What to watch
Stu Forster/Getty Images
📺EPL: Newcastle at Manchester United
3 p.m. ET in the United States
Two proud clubs competing for places in the top half of the Premier League table make for a good match. I loved this story from earlier this week about Man Utd’s young Shea Lacey, the budding boxer who is become one of the team’s great hopes.
📺 NCAAF: New Mexico vs. Minnesota
4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
It’s perfect to watch on Boxing Day here at the Rate Bowl, and it should be the best bowl game of the day. The Golden Gophers are favored by 2.5 points. There are also two other games today. See the full schedule.
📺 NBA: Sixers vs. Bulls
7:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Philadelphia is a strong playoff team, while the Bulls are clinging to a Play-In spot early this year. I’m just curious to see if these teams will score 300 points.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Matchmaker: A personality test for viewers on vacation
Welcome to Garbage Time 2025, that liminal space between Christmas and New Year where you have nothing to do, it’s everything you’ve ever wanted, and yet… you’re already bored. Every NFL game has “at least one horrible team,” as our fantasy football analyst Jake Ciely told me, and there’s actually only… too much NBA??
What else can a sports fan – or their supporting family – watch? Like the one from The Pulse pop culture correspondentI (Hannah) am here for our second edition of What to watch matchmaker (on the theme of sport!).
What to watch if…
You need to get out of the house ➡️ “Supreme Marty”. Timothée Chalamet as a table tennis phenom is the only monoculture we have left, other than hating Lane Kiffin. (At the cinema)
You are the host of the holiday ➡️ “Taylor Swift: The end of an era. ” You have Never seen a sports franchise – or a Christmas party – better managed than the Eras Tour. (Netflix)
You like a little spice in your eggnog ➡️ “Heated Rivalry” is the steamy, emotional hockey romance you never knew you needed. It’s gone viral, but be careful, it’s NOT meant for family viewing. (HBO Max)
You are a fan of “New year, new me” ➡️ “Starting 5” S2 has written such exceptional programming, culminating with an NBA Finals showdown, that you might start to dabble in simulation theory. (Netflix)
You vibrate with the ghost of Christmas past ➡️ “A Thousand Blows,” a historical drama set in the grimy world of boxing and crime in 1880s London. Sports-adjacent “Peaky Blinders.” (Hulu)
You ❤️🔥 Hallmark ➡️ “Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story.” I asked Buffalo Bills editor Cristina Ledra for a review: “A cute story with just enough intrigue and cameos from the Bills players to make it an enjoyable holiday watch.” (Hallmark+) ➡️ Alternative: “A Pickleball Christmas”, which is a movie that exists! (Lifetime)
Your mother loves Glen Powell ➡️ “Chad Powers,” a comedy about college football. Bonus: Read my interview with Powell on how he prepared for QB. (Hulu)
You like sports gossip more than sports ➡️ Vice’s “Out of Bounds: Bill Belichick & Jordon Hudson” doesn’t cover any new ground, but for anyone who missed it, or is tired of explaining it to their family, a nice introduction with interviews with the hosts of “The sports gossip show” And “Pablo Torre finds out.” (YouTube)
You’re just waiting for America’s Pastime to come back in season. ➡️ «Alex vs. A-Rod” is a competent, if hagiographic, review of A-Rod’s complicated career. (HBO Max)
College football is your religion: Five days before the next CFP match…. ➡️ “5-Star” follows four top recruits in their first college season. (Paramount+) ➡️ Or: “The Money Game: LSU” (Prime Video)
You are “on break” from sport: May I suggest the best non-athletic watch And movies of the year? My favorite movie was “One Battle After Another” and my favorite shows were “The Pitt” and “Task.”
- “Andor” (Disney+)
- “Task” (HBO Max)
- “Pluribus” (Apple TV)
- “Indemnity” (Apple TV)
- “Adolescence” (Netflix)
- “Stranger Things” Season 5 (Netflix)
- “The Truth” (Hulu)
- “One Battle After Another” (HBO Max)
- “Dream Trains” (Netflix)
- “Wake Up Dead Man: A Mystery at Knives Out” (Netflix)
- “The Pitt” S1 before S2 on January 8 (HBO Max)
Pulse selection
It’s difficult to make a name for yourself when Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce and even Taylor Swift are in your orbit. However, Jake Chatzky, better known as “Jake Jets” certainly. I thought it was a lot of fun.
Need a break from your family? Take Tyler Kepner’s annual MLB Quiz.
Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston played NHL Trade Matchmaker this week before the March 6 deadline. See their choices in part one.
Which women’s basketball figures deserved gifts this year? What about those who deserved coal instead? Ben Pickman and Sabreena Merchant chose their lists.
📫That’s all for now! Say hello to [email protected]And check out our other newsletters.
