DK Metcalf thinks a lot about Antarctica, plus a strange night in Tallahassee

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good morning! Turn on the lights today. Coming up:

Lights? SMU won the electric game

With what happened last night in Tallahassee, Fla., I’m not sure where to begin.

The game itself? An entertaining 27-24 win over No. 19 SMU on the road in the Mustangs’ season opener. Circumstances surrounding the game? A 90-minute delay due to a power outage left both teams without the technology they are used to playing with. Failure? Florida State coach Mike Norvell showed some resilience but remains on the bench after last night’s 585-329 win.

Read our full report here. What a strange night.

Characters: Player, coach and owner enter the bar

Yesterday, we took a 30,000-foot view of the NFL season. Today, I want to go over a little house specifically on three people, on three different league sites. Although they are all very important. Let’s start on the field:

1. DK Metcalf, Conspiracy Theory
Metcalf intrigued me. He’s one of the best physical specimens we’ve ever seen play football, but his life took a strange turn after last season’s blockbuster trade from Pittsburgh. He had the worst year of his career when his old team, Seattle, won the Super Bowl. And at 28, how many more major years does he have left?

Jonathan Jones got Metcalf to open up in a big story today, which explores the receiver’s perceived anger management issues, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and, yes, his love for conspiracy theories. Metcalfe believes that there is another civilization, a mysterious one, located under the ice of Antarctica.

“Yeah, I’m a big conspiracy theorist,” Metcalf says in the story. “Shout out to my quarterback.” Click.

2. Zac Taylor, pressure lover
There may not be a team under more scrutiny than the Bengals, with a returning quarterback in Joe Burroughs who is a leading MVP candidate and who also speaks loudly about how the team needs to win a Super Bowl soon. Pardon my speculation, but this all seems to point to a breakout if Cincinnati doesn’t succeed this year.

That makes Taylor, Bengals coach, no. 1 scapegoat should things go wrong. As Paul Dehner Jr. writes today, the proverbial stars are aligned in a way they haven’t seen in Cincinnati in years. Everyone did their job. Now Taylor has to do his own thing..

Ed Mulholland/Getty Images

3. Woody Johnson, A Changed Man?
The owner of the Jets does not have a good record with this franchise. Ask any Jets fan about that. And, in recent years, your first thought about Johnson is how he is. “Madden” used levels Real life decisions. not good.

But as Zack Rosenblatt wrote this morning, Johnson, 79, appears to be making amends. There is culture, planning and some perspective. Johnson won’t be around forever and, those around him say, despite the failures, he cares deeply about the franchise. When he goes, he wants to leave his family well.

I don’t know if it will help the Jets this year. But Read this And try not to sway at least a little.

News to know

Zeng does it again
In the second round of the US Open, Zeng Qinwen unleashed her amazing karmic weapon on poor Iga Switchtech yesterday, sweeping the tournament and eventually the match 5-0. For Swiątek, it’s another unfortunate setback this year. On the other hand, 2024 Olympic gold medalist Zeng It is a real threat to win this tournament..

Whittingham gives good support to Underwood
Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham said Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood is the team’s starter “for now,” according to Underwood & Co. He’s the team’s starter after a controversial last-second save by Hull’s Mary Danen at Western Michigan. It’s still early, but considering Michigan’s massive recruiting coup against Underwood two years ago, this fact is impressive. The pressure is on this weekend. See Whittingham’s full statement.

Joe Rexrode writes that the investigation into Underwood has improved. A sad sign of the times.

Banks still haven’t decided
Soccer player Nohkai Banks has been considered for the 2026 World Cup, but the dual German-American citizen has not decided who should play for the internationals. USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino gave an update on the 19-year-old yesterday, saying Pochettino represents a key demographic to recruit if the Americans want to be promoted by 2030. Banks, who plays for Bundesliga club Augsburg, said he would make a decision in the next two months. Read more here.

More news:

• North Carolina coach Bill Belichick When asked about the ongoing internal affairs, he was minimal. Examination program to it. Read the comments.
  
• of Big 12 He dropped the case Texas Tech. What a time..
  
• Team USA Italy returned with a strong victory against the Czech Republic FIBA Women’s World Cup. Read our description.
  
• Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg He removed himself from consideration Red wings GM search. Detroit’s guest season continues..
  
• of Kansas City Current They broke up with the sports director. Vlatko Andonovski, Mann is a former NWSL Coach of the Year and manager of the US Women’s National Team. More details here.
  
• Tua Tagovailoa The starting point is the quarterback Atlanta For the time being.
  
• Cowboys guard Tyler Smith He will miss four to six weeks with a thumb injury. More details here.
  
• Meanwhile, Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce He plays in the season opener against the Ravens this weekend. Pierce had ankle surgery in March.

📰 Get more news here 24/7.

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📺 Football: Champions League
12:45 pm and 3 pm ET on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network
The season-ending European football season kicks off here, with each country’s top leagues in full swing, and now we’ve lined up some amazing cameos from the Champions League. See the full list of six matches here. We have a long road ahead of us. In a better way.

James Horncastle has written an excellent guide What to expect.

📺 Tennis: US Open Quarterfinals
11:30 am-8:30 pm ET on ESPN
We have four matches today, all good. On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka will meet Linda Noskova in the first round, with Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro all-Americans in the final round. On the men’s side, Francis Tiafoe and American Alex Michelson were first, while Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz made the finals of the day. Just look at it.

📺 MLB: Astros at Phillies
6:40 p.m. on TBS
Philadelphia is eight games ahead of Houston in the standings, but the ‘Stros are the leaders of the AL West and the Phils are still four games back in the NL East. Such is life in the MLB sometimes. Still, these two playoff teams are fighting for a spot.

Heart rate choices

It’s always good to know about a young star before your friends. Jordan Rodrigue has a list. 15 young players the NFL is talking about. before the start of the regular season. Learn.

I thought of this story from Mark Pulio, on the spot. State College, Pa. About JErie Sandusky While the issue is coming up again Penn State He tries to hug. Joe Paterno Legacy was great. Give it time.

We have. College football Quarterly responses after week 1. Alabama QB Keelon Russell It could be very good.

dead end NHL training camp It always brings a squeeze of the roster. Here they are. 11 interesting names that can be beaten Removal wire.

If you missed it yesterday, ours A brief description of the Premier League It was great, led by the big question: How disgusting. Arsenal look out?

The most loaded in the newspaper yesterday: of The latest The Cardinals hat-tilt scandal.

Most read on the website yesterday: Bold predictions for every NFL team.