The most interesting player in college football, plus early Open coverage

The recent news on Arch Manning potentially being a top NFL draft pick after just 12 college games suggests that punters may want to consider wagering on Manning's Heisman candidacy, given his high odds at BetMGM.

What is the content of the article? 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 hope you set your alarm early. We start on the links this morning because, well, the golf is already underway. The Open Championship began this morning (check the scores here), which means either you’re a complete sicko and have been up for hours, or you need to catch up like the rest of us. Either way, it’s a beautiful day.

The Open is one of my favorite tournaments. I’d probably rank it only behind the Masters (sorry, U.S. Open) among golf events. The sport gets back to its roots here. Links golf, gray skies, windy conditions, good vibes. Consider this a quick Pulse “preview” before the narratives fully begin: Again, the live blog is here. Happy golf watching this weekend.

Onward: It is hard to remember a college player with the profile of Arch Manning. The Texas redshirt sophomore quarterback has played in just 12 college games (two starts) and thrown all of 95 passes. And yet, pedigree and hype have NFL prognosticators wondering if he’s the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft.

I feel secondhand pressure for the kid just pondering that alone. Because of it, Manning might be the most interesting player in college football this season. Two things: Which is completely unfair for a first-year starter ... but his name is Arch Manning and he went to Texas. This is reality. And Manning seems well-adjusted enough, anyway, so he may just go and win the Heisman (highest odds for that on BetMGM right now, too). No pressure, kid.

Make sure to read the full tiers list, which features a certain LSU quarterback at No. 2.

Beal heads to L.A. Bradley Beal agreed to a buyout with the Suns, sources told The Athletic, forgoing $13.8 million of the remaining $110.8 million Phoenix owed him, and will sign a two-year, $11 million contract with the Clippers. Beal forms a star trio in Los Angeles with James Harden and Kawhi Leonard that, if healthy, makes the Clips a serious threat in the Western Conference. As for the Suns? The initial Beal trade goes down as one of the worst in franchise history.

Portnoy, Fox join forces Barstool founder Dave Portnoy is finalizing a deal to become a regular on Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff,” sources told The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. It’s part of a larger agreement between Barstool and Fox Sports, which would also place Barstool personality Dan “Big Cat” Katz alongside Portnoy on a daily FS1 show to directly compete with ESPN’s “Get Up” and “First Take.” It’s a major pivot for Fox just days after cleaning house. The war between the networks is spicy now.

More news 📫 Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters.

📺 Golf: The Open Championship Right now on USA and Peacock Coverage started at 1:30 a.m. ET this morning and golfers started teeing five minutes later, or when this newsletter writer was still penning these words. See how to watch all the action here.

📺 Soccer: Sweden vs. England 3 p.m. ET on Fox Another Women’s Euros quarterfinal is on TV today, and if it’s anything like yesterday’s Italy-Norway tilt, we’re in for a treat. The Lionesses are a slight favorite. If you can, turn it on. Get tickets to games like these here.

Mike Jones picked a delicious offseason NFL topic: the underrated and overrated teams of 2025. Notice how a lot of folks really like the Cardinals this year. Hm. With the Tour de France past the halfway point, our writers named the top riders and moments of the race so far. Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft’s feud continues to deepen, as Chad Graff expertly detailed.

I’m still buzzing from the MLB All-Star Game. Ken Rosenthal is, too. Jayson Stark, per usual, also has a must-read Weird and Wild column from the All-Star Game, which was made for Jayson. Some players also think it fixed the sport.

The college basketball rankings continue, this time with CJ Moore picking the best men’s coaches of the 2000s. Coach K doesn’t even make the top two.

Was the Club World Cup really worth $1 billion to DAZN? Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Brendan Quinn’s story on nihilist Scottie Scheffler, whose words Tuesday were moving. Most-read on the website yesterday: Once again, our story on Amanda Anisimova and her masterclass in handling failure.

Theathleticuk