Djokovic’s unbelievable streak, snapped. Plus, Aaron Donald is officially back
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Good morning! Unretire today. Coming up:
While You Were Sleeping: Djoker out, already
There are bad nights in Queens, and then there’s what happened to Novak Djokovic last night at the U.S. Open. Facts from one of the more shocking results we’ve seen in a while:
- Over a four-plus-hour stretch, Djokovic, who had won 77 straight first-round matches at Grand Slams, cramped and vomited while playing Argentina’s Mariano Navone, the No. 49 player in the world.
- Djokovic, 39, looked terrible physically, and it’s a feat he even made it through the match. He lost in five sets — 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 — with a massive fade to close it out.
- His last first-round loss came in 2006 at the Australian Open, when he was ranked No. 76 in the world. Wild.
Read more from our story here.
Roster Spots: He really did it
Two levels of football this week will be obsessed with data that lives on a spreadsheet. Who’s getting what spot? How many guys are left on the roster? Do we have practice squad players? Wait, are my practice squad guys going back to college?
All valid questions, this week and this week only. Yesterday was a big one — NFL roster cutdown day — with more milestones ahead. We’re doing superlatives here:
The roster addition that feels unfair: Aaron Donald, active NFL player
Donald is officially unretiring and returning to the Rams for what is assuredly a Super Bowl-or-nothing season. Putting Donald on a defensive line with Myles Garrett feels like the teams I used to construct in “NCAA Football” growing up. A roster full of 99s.
It’s easy to forget, even though Donald’s been retired for just two years, that this man is one of the greatest defensive players the game has ever seen. And apparently, the 35-year-old has looked better in workouts this summer than he did when he retired after the 2023 season. Scary.
The Rams are officially a superteam, as Jourdan Rodrigue writes today. Compelling.
The unexpected absence: Josh Jacobs
The Packers running back will start the season on the commissioner exempt list, meaning he cannot play or practice, but he will continue collecting his salary. It comes in the wake of authorities charging Jacobs with two misdemeanors in relation to an alleged altercation at his house this summer. Read more on the situation here.
Big names sticking around: J.J. McCarthy, Odell Beckham Jr.
McCarthy is a slight surprise, as Minnesota has opted to carry four quarterbacks on the roster with no clear backup for Kyler Murray just yet. The fact that McCarthy, the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, is not a shoo-in to at least back up Murray shows how bad the situation is.
As for Beckham? The dude clearly still has it, and showed it right when he needed to.
Notable cuts: Mecole Hardman, Will Levis
Levis is another first-round quarterback who’s slid out of relevance with his now-former franchise. Hardman caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl two years ago and now finds himself out of a job. See more interesting free agents here.
Mike Carlson / Getty Images
Oh right, back to college: Jack Pyburn, others … maybe
Tampa Bay waived the former (and future?) LSU defensive lineman yesterday, making Pyburn one of the players who could possibly go from college to NFL and back again, depending on the results of a judge’s ruling Thursday. Catch up on that here.
Speaking of the courts:
News to Know
Parker S. Freedman / Getty Images
SEC will ‘defend rights’ in legal battle
The Southeastern Conference pushed back on any narratives about backing down from its tussle with member schools, most notably LSU, who court players previously on NFL rosters this season. In a statement to The Athletic, the conference reminded readers that a temporary restraining order, granted to tens of players last week, is not a permanent ruling in the case. Thursday is going to be a big day.
Scottie Scheffler, very rich
Scottie Scheffler, already the No. 1 men’s golfer in the world, is now the PGA Tour’s all-time leader on the money list after winning the Tour Championship yesterday. With his third win of the season — and a $10 million prize — Scheffler passed Tiger Woods’ winnings record … which he had held since 2000. After a slow start, Scheffler might be the player of the year, again.
More news:
- A WEEI radio broadcaster suggested during last night’s game that Red Sox pitchers should throw at Yankees catcher Austin Wells and start a fight with second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. Read the play-by-play man’s full crashout here.
- Rockies outfielder Cole Carrigg was benched for six innings for flipping off Braves fans. Sounds worth it to me.
- After our story on the Huskers over the weekend, Nebraska swept Texas in an impressive volleyball showing. Read our full recap.
- French tennis player Térence Atmane was up two sets and a break at the U.S. Open yesterday when he got cramps … then was denied treatment. He lost the match.
- Why was the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum so empty for USC’s opener? The seats were hot, I guess.
- Curaçao is the Little League Baseball World Series champ after routing Nevada yesterday. More here.
📰 Find more news here 24/7.
Watch Guide
📺 EPL: Arsenal at Aston Villa
3 p.m. ET on USA
Tune in to see how the defending champs hold up in their second match of the year. Prem season has already been amazing.
📺 Tennis: U.S. Open
All day on ESPN networks
Singles action today starts at 11 a.m. ET and runs through 8:40 p.m. ET with big names playing on both the men’s and women’s sides. See the full listings here.
📺 MLB: Marlins at Nationals
6:45 p.m. ET on FS1
Miami, quietly, is just 3 1/2 games back of the final NL wild-card spot. We have about 25 games left in the season. This one’s important.
Pulse Picks
Troy Wayrynen / Imagn Images
The NBA’s never been richer. But David Aldridge worries it’s losing its connection with fans.
The Yankees are always interesting, and a huge series win over the Red Sox this weekend cemented that. I loved Ken Rosenthal’s column today about how the Yanks did little at the deadline, yet still are in good shape for a ring chase.
NASCAR’s playoffs are back. Get caught up with our Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi, the best in the biz.
Ira Gorawara made quick work of a story on Louisiana Christian, the tiny NAIA school that upset FBS Northwestern State over the weekend. Make time for this one. Can I claim any tangential hipster credit if I went to a youth basketball camp there a long time ago?
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on the death of William Jewell College running back MicahJo Barnett.
Most-read on the website yesterday: The Josh Jacobs story.