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Good morning! Have some hope today. Coming up: 

Teamwork, Dream Work: Everyone’s getting along for now

Two nights ago, my daughter refused to go to sleep well past her bedtime. She claimed she needed a snack. As I relented — which I always do — she held out her fist for a bump and told me: “Teamwork makes the dream work, Dada.” Seriously.

She said it as if it was a maxim of her life, though it was the first time she’s uttered it to either of her parents. Having the confidence of a 4-year-old sounds nice. 

Anyway, it’s stuck with me as an indelible memory, and I can’t help but apply it to this cadre of sports news stories. Hold your fist out for some teamwork here: 

Serena Williams 🤝 Carlos Alcaraz
The two tennis superstars will bridge gender and era gaps to team up for a fun mixed doubles run at the U.S. Open starting today. It’s a massive get for the Open’s mixed doubles competition, which has jazzed up in recent years, with no pairing bigger than this. 

The only caveat, other than questions about both players’ health: In limited action, Alcaraz hasn’t been great in doubles play. He lost with partner Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals at the Olympics and with Emma Raducanu in the opening round at last year’s Open. Still should be fun. Read more on the setup here. 

Morgan Rogers 🤜🤛 Xabi Alonso
The new Chelsea player and manager helped deliver a thrilling 3-2 win over Fulham yesterday in the club’s Premier League opener. Each star transfer comes with a caveat that it might take time to meld with a new team. Not so in this case, as Rogers scored the team’s second goal to capitalize on his new surroundings one match in. Not bad.

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Indiana ✊ The Athletic 138
Preseason college football polls are a funny thing. Chris Vannini highlighted that in his first ranking of all 138 FBS teams this season, slotting the Hoosiers in at No. 1 after a 16-0 season last year. Makes sense, right? The AP poll disagreed, putting Indiana at No. 6. Why are we giving the defending champs bulletin board material? See the full 138 here. 

Also in the rankings pile: Antonio Morales picked a bandwagon team for every conference, which is fun. Give me the Delaware Blue Hens. Also — please pause for my guffaws — Alabama is the bandwagon choice for the SEC. Just read the story. 

Timberwolves 🫡 Leos
The NBA offseason was full of intrigue (remember when LeBron James picked the 76ers?), but there may be no more puzzling — and tantalizing, to be fair — addition than LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves to pair with Anthony Edwards. Losing Naz Reid is a blow; adding Ball will make the T-Wolves’ offense more dynamic than ever. 

And as Law Murray wrote in the latest NBA Power Rankings: “Putting two Leos on the same team will lead to extraordinary results.” More on that here. 

Some honorable mention fist bumps before we move on: 

The Mercury đź‘‹ DeWanna Bonner. The WNBA legend is free to join a title contender after Phoenix bought out her contract.
Leon Draisaitl 👌 Oilers management. Edmonton’s second star supports the controversial decision to hire coach Mike Babcock. Apparently there was a “no-holds-barred” conversation.
Rob Manfred 🗣️“negotiation.” Forgive my skepticism, but the commissioner said the plan is for MLB to play next season, of course, and that the league and its players association are “regularly” meeting. I’ll believe it when it happens, but you can read his comments here. 

Onward:

News to Know

Sergio Estrada / Imagn Images

49ers owner arrested
Authorities arrested Jed York, owner and CEO of the 49ers, Sunday in East Palestine, Ohio, on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools. The charges originally included engaging in prostitution but were later amended. York, 46, also co-owns the Premier League club Leeds United and Scottish soccer club Rangers F.C. Read more on the situation.

Browns officially tab Watson
Deshaun Watson will be Cleveland’s starting quarterback in Week 1 this year, Browns coach Todd Monken announced yesterday, and everything about this just feels like an untenable situation. The home crowd loathes Watson, whose contract still looms large on Cleveland’s cap sheet. Something to watch: The Browns begin with two road games this year before returning home for Week 3. I wonder if a slow start changes the decision-making. Two more Watson-related things: 

Jason Lloyd wondered why Watson would take any accountability for the Browns’ current PR nightmare when he’s never taken any for the mess that has been his entire tenure. I recommend reading this today.
Watson wasn’t even that good in the preseason, which was a highlight of our lessons learned from this latest batch of games. Read those here.

In Houston, an overhaul
The Astros are both division leaders (good) and owners of a losing record (bad) as we near September, which prompted franchise owner Jim Crane to fire general manager Dana Brown yesterday. Manager Joe Espada, whose contract is up at the end of the season, could be on the way out, too. It’s an intriguing juncture for a team that’s been a standard of excellence over the past decade, but slowly slipped into disrepair. Chandler Rome’s examination of the situation was really, really good.

More news:

The Patriots traded receiver Kayshon Boutte to the Texans for a safety and a seventh-round draft pick. Houston wins this trade for now.
Pittsburgh and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. are “at an impasse” in contract negotiations, Steelers coach Mike McCarthy said yesterday. Hm.
Tennessee will start Faizon Brandon, a true freshman, at quarterback this fall. It’s a rarity.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders said lawsuits aren’t distractions, while highlighting his history with them. See his full comments.
Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte is on track to return to the lineup next week, Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. What a strange saga.
Less than a year into existence, a WPBL board member has alleged the organization is misusing funds. Read more.
The autopsy report for former Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke indicated a history of drug use. Details here.

📰 Find more news here 24/7.

Watch Guide

đź“ş LLBWS: Elimination games
1 p.m.-7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Another quad pack of cute kids experiencing triumph and heartbreak on national television. It’s fun. 

đź“ş Soccer: Leeds at Nottingham Forest
3 p.m. ET on Paramount+
These are two Premier League teams but this is not a Prem match. It’s the second round of the Carabao Cup, an annual tournament in England open to all clubs at the top four levels of the professional system. It’s fun. Throw it on. 

đź“ş MLB: Dodgers at Braves
7:15 p.m. ET on TBS
L.A. remains a juggernaut on the field, while Atlanta needs all the help it can get to maintain a slim lead in the NL East over the red-hot Phillies. Good game.

Pulse Picks

Mitchell Leff / Getty Images

One last word on teamwork: You can support (or trash) your NFL team by participating in our Hope-O-Meter survey, which I always find to be a valuable metric. Make your voice heard here.

Justin Jefferson thinks the public does not see him as the NFL’s best receiver anymore, and he’s out to change that this year. I would never doubt you, Justin. He seems serious though.  

In this week’s MLB Power Rankings, freshly printed this morning, our team posed one big looming question each team has to answer this season. Find your team’s quandary here. 

An interesting question from Manny Navarro: LSU spent $40 million on its roster for this season. So why are the Tigers taking NFL players now? 

Need a lighter topic? Ira Gorawara wrote a heartwarming story about how international students land at American colleges and get indoctrinated into the cult of college football. 

Don’t look now, but the F1 title race is alive again thanks to Lando Norris — and Mercedes is rattled. 

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on Enes Kanter Freedom’s ejection from a WNBA game Sunday night. 

Most-read on the website yesterday: The Jed York news.