Ravens-Chiefs comes down to a toe, plus Alex Morgan’s goodbye (2024)

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Good morning! One Honey Deuce, please.

While You Were Sleeping: The Chiefs are 1-0 by a toe

We have plenty of time to wax about how Kansas Cityflashed new talent in last night’s win, or how that tight of a loss on the road barely dampens the Ravens’ hopes of winning the AFC. Last night’s season-opening game between two of the NFL’s best teams came down to this:

Football is a game of inches, but for the Chiefs, it came down to a toe.
📸 @NFL
Game reactions here ⤵️https://t.co/sd6ZEbwSHd pic.twitter.com/6xmRcLi303
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 6, 2024

That is Isaiah Likely’s toe, barely out of bounds,while he caught what initially looked like an incredibly clutch touchdown with no time on the clock. The Ravens thus believed themselves to be down 27-26, and John Harbaugh was ready to go for two and win the game. Jaws across America were agape.

Officials reviewed the call, overturned the initial touchdown ruling and concluded the NFL’s season opener of its dreams. (After all, overtime in the first game? Most East Coasters aren’t ready for that yet.)

Kansas City is 1-0as it begins a campaign for its third straight Super Bowl, followingan offseason unlike any other. Taylor Swiftwas there too.

Both of these teams should feel good about this one, honestly. I feel good about the NFL being back. Moving on:

Goodbye, GOAT: Alex Morgan departs

In sports, every career ends. For a select few athletes, seeing them walk away feels off. Weird. A reminder that everything is finite … and maybe that you’re old. Time is the only thing undefeated.

Alex Morgan sparked all those emotions as she announced her full retirement from soccer yesterday. At 35, she leaves happily as a USWNT icon (and pregnant with her second child). Two things here:

She is one of just seven USWNT players to score 100 goalsin international competition. She debuted at just 22 years old in the 2011 World Cup and immediately became a star. As Meg Linehan and Jeff Rueterwrote,she was the face of the USWNT for a decade.Though the USWNTwon Olympic gold without her this summer, her career loses zero shine because of it.
Her social legacy is just as important. She helped lead the fight for USWNT equal pay, and also went on the record with The Athletic as a key witness for two NWSL players’ stories of abuse.

We’ll have more on Morgan in the coming days, but for now, relive her top five USWNT moments here.

News to Know

Sabalenka and Pegula advance
Women’s world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenkadispatched American upstart Emma Navarroin straight sets last night to advance to the U.S. Open final, where she will face Jessica Pegula, the American who needed three sets toupend Karolina Muchovalast night. Sabalenka, who lost to Coco Gauff in last year’s final, will be a massive favorite, but Pegula should have the home crowd on her side.

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The world’s worst team wins
Entering yesterday’s match against Liechtenstein, the San Marino men’s soccer team ranked dead last in the FIFA world rankings out of 210 teams. They had not won a game in 20 years. But Nicko Sensoli’s goal in the 53rd minute was enough to securethe historic win, the country’s first-ever in a competitive match. One of our writers spent a week with the team last summer and came away witha great story. So fun.

Scott Boras’ revenge tour begins
We all poked fun at baseball super-agent Scott Boras last offseason, as his patented negotiation tacticsfailed to pan outfor most of his high-profile clients. But we all knew this was coming, right? One of those clients, Giants third baseman Matt Chapman,got his big deal yesterday: a six-year, $151 million contract extension, which is right at the value Chapman had hoped to get on the free-agent market. Boras should have another massive offseason with clients like Juan Soto, Cody Bellinger, Alex Bregman and Blake Snell.

More news

USC retired Caleb Williams’ No. 13 and reinstated Reggie Bush’s No. 5 on the stadium walls. Good move on both accounts.
Shaquille O’Neal called Rudy Gobert the worst NBA player of all time. Gobert asked him to chill out.
Legendary Yankees play-by-play man John Sterling will come out of retirement to call playoff games. Fun.
The Big 12 expansion talks with UConn are off — again.
Magic Johnson joined the ownership group of the NWSL’s Washington Spirit.

Feedback Loop: Sorry, Aaron

In your minds, all those bold predictions of a comeback year for Aaron Rodgers were, in fact, bold. Just look at the separation on that poll. Yikes.

The Good Bets: Go Mountaineers

Space is limited, so let’s make some money quickly:

College

Michigan (+7.5) vs. Texas
I don’t feel great about this, but I just can’t get over this big of a line for any team on the road at Michigan. Austin Mock’s model has this closer to a four-point spread, so we’re leaning in.
Appalachian State (+17.5) at Clemson
Another huge line I can’t abide by, especially with the Tigers’ trajectory. Expect a close-ish game that Clemson closes out late.

Read more: Expert picks | Best bets

NFL

Bills (-6) vs. Cardinals
I’m pro-Buffalo for now, and though I think Arizona will improve this year, smash this line.
Carolina (+4) at Saints
I think New Orleans wins, but it’s unnecessarily stressful on a last-second field goal.Our projection modeldisagrees, though. Trusting the model.

Read more: Expert picks | Best bets

Pulse record overall: 2-2-0

Watch and Listen

📺 Tennis: Taylor Fritz vs. Frances Tiafoe
7 p.m. ET on ESPN
This may be the most anticipated tennis match of the year, at least here in the States. Two Americans are vying to become the first U.S. man to make the U.S. Open final since 2006. These two are great friends andhave followed similar pathsto the top of tennis, only to be shut out by the game’s greats — until now. The crowd should be electric.

📺 NFL: Packers vs. Eagles
8:15 p.m. on Peaco*ck
Yes, Week 1 has a Friday game, but you make exceptions for games played in Brazil.Read Brooks Kubena’s storyabout what it’s like on the ground in São Paulo before kickoff. I am excited to watch.

Stream games like these here and get tickets here.

🎧 Scoop City sat down with Josh Allen, who was pretty fierce in response to being called overrated: “I see it as a term of endearment.” Listen to the full episode here.

Pulse Picks

Zak Keefer has an incredible interview withTroy Aikman, who remains the best color commentator in the NFL and somehow its most underrated. Aikman opened up on, well, everything.Just read it.

I thought this was explosive and gripping: Nick Miller’s exclusive interview with legendaryTurkish soccerplayerHakan Sukur, who’s become a “good” Voldemort-like figure.Make time for this.

Another fascinating angle into the newNILworld of college football: If not for NIL transfers,Idaholast weekend probablywould’ve pulled off the biggest upset in college football history.

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Inside the race to acquireCaitlin Clark rookie cards.

Most-read on the website yesterday: NFL Power Rankings for Week 1. Catch up before Sunday.

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(Top photo: Denny Medley / Imagn Images)

Chris Branch is a staff writer for The Athletic's daily newsletter. Before joining The Athletic, he covered the Phillies for The News-Journal and worked as a content strategist for various industries. He graduated from LSU, where he worked for The Daily Reveille. Follow Chris on Twitter @cbranch89