The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.

Good morning! I’m confident you’ll play Week 1.

Banana Poll: The enduring curiosity of the Savannah Bananas

The Savannah Bananas are the most popular cult in sports, and I mean that as a compliment. 

This roving band of dancing baseball players sells out MLB stadiums across the country. They are both kings of the digital age — I’m sure they’ll pop up on your social media feeds after you read this — and of the in-person experience, where tickets are ludicrously hard to come by. 

Something that may have been labeled a fad a few years ago — the team was founded in 2016 — is now fully mainstream. The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli witnessed it firsthand this week and wrote a great story posing the question: What can MLB learn from the Bananas’ success? 

It sparked a more macro debate, and I want your opinion on that in a bit. But two points I’d like to make about the Bananas first: 

After reading Britt’s story, I formed a more existential admiration for the Bananas operation. Founder Jesse Cole said he’s been approached by gobs of deep-pocketed investors who want in. Cole said no, because in his words, he wants “a billion fans,” not a billion dollars. Tickets are $35. Building an accessible and sustainable sports product that can be enjoyed by everyone? Hell yeah, brother.
The Bananas ride a line between drama and clownery I find fascinating. Online, you’ll see them pausing the game to perform a viral TikTok dance or something similar. But due to some creative scoring rules, there is legitimate drama to these “games.” My first mental comparison was the Harlem Globetrotters, which is apparently a slightly sore subject. 

I want to know how you feel about the entire trend, because the Bananas aren’t slowing any time soon. And there is legitimate merit to the idea that MLB can learn from what has become an outrageously successful operation. 

Thus, our next Pulse Poll, and think of it as a vibe check: How do you feel about the Bananas? And do you think MLB should actually consider their ideas in the future? Choices: 

Wait, what’s a Savannah Banana? 
The Bananas are fantastic. Take what you can, MLB. 
This is juvenile nonsense, and please keep it away from my sport. 

Make your voice heard below. And don’t forget to read Britt’s story for her thoughts.

Business: More changes on your TV screen

Boring as it may sound, the way we watch sports is undergoing a period a rapid change. Two stories from yesterday perfectly exemplified it: 

To start small, Fox is launching a direct-to-consumer service called Fox One this month that will broadcast college football, NFL games, World Series games and the network’s other live offerings. It’ll cost $19.99 per month, which is $10 less than ESPN’s forthcoming DTC service. For those without traditional or streaming cable, it’s an interesting option. See the full details here.
The big whammy came from the NFL and ESPN, who officially announced their new deal. ESPN will acquire NFL assets — think NFL Network, RedZone, etc. — and in return, the league gets a 10 percent ownership stake in the network. The equity further weds the two broadcast partners, and it’ll be interesting to see, at least from a journalistic standpoint, how that affects ESPN’s operation going forward. 

Let’s move on:

News to KnowSon Heung-min is leaving Tottenham for LAFC

Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images

Son to set MLS transfer fee record
We should be talking more about the impending move of Son Heung-min, the Tottenham Hotspur legend who is close to finishing up a deal with LAFC. The MLS side will pay Spurs a $26.5 million transfer fee, the highest in league history. Son leaves Spurs as one of the best players in the history of the franchise and, frankly, the Premier League — and he’s still only 33. He’s going to be massive in Los Angeles. Until then, read Jack Pitt-Brooke’s excellent retrospective on Son’s career at Tottenham.

Venezuelan LLWS team gets waiver
A team of youth baseball players from Venezuela have been granted a “national exemption” to participate in this month’s Little League World Series, despite their home country being one of the 19 on President Donald Trump’s travel ban list. It comes a month after another youth baseball team from Venezuela was barred from playing in a different tournament. The backstory — including input from Venezuelan MLB players — is worth a read.

Sanders to start preseason opener
Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders will be the first quarterback under center in Cleveland’s preseason game Friday, which is just another chapter in one of the stranger NFL QB competitions I can recall. Remember that this team entered camp with four legitimate options to start — including two rookies in the draft class. The competition has been a dud so far, too.

More news

Topps stood by its Lionel Messi-autographed cards, some of which PSA has refused to authenticate. Curious.
A former Heat and NBA employee is accused of stealing more than 400 game-used jerseys, including a $3.7 million LeBron James uniform. Wild story.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones isn’t confident Micah Parsons will play Week 1, but still sounds intent on getting a deal done. Wake me up when this is over.
49ers tight end George Kittle is very upset the NFL is banning smelling salts.
Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison will serve a three-game suspension to begin the season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
The Yankees acquired reliever Jake Bird last week at the deadline and have already demoted him. Things aren’t going well.

📫 Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters.

What to Watch

đź“ş MLB: Brewers at Braves
7:15 p.m. ET on FS1
We’re going to the other side of that NL Central battle here, as Milwaukee attempts to lengthen its current win streak to six games. 

đź“ş WNBA: Aces at Valkyries
10 p.m. ET on NBA TV
These two are close in the standings — vying for the eighth and final playoff spot currently — with 15-ish games left in the regular season. Good game. 

Get tickets to games like these here.

Pulse Picks

Texas Tech has perennially been on the outside of true Big 12 contention. The Red Raiders are now trying to simply buy a conference title. Sam Khan Jr. took us inside one of the best stories of the NIL era. 

I also loved the college football staff’s annual Heisman draft. We’ve got some longshots in there. Fun prep for the season that starts in just 17(!) days. 

Have you noticed Luka Dončić is on a summer tour of sorts? He even went to a Backstreet Boys concert. Dan Woike went along for the ride. 

If you have time for a listen/watch, I highly recommend the interview our friends at “Scoop City” did with Broncos QB Bo Nix. 

Speaking of Athletic podcasts: I’m very excited to see “The Sports Gossip Show” added to our network, and look out for some Pulse crossover content with them later this week. 

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The Freaks List. 

Most-read on the website yesterday: Our latest MLB Power Rankings. Brewers No. 1!

(Top photo: Jaiden Tripi / Getty Images)