Charles Barkley’s TV future remains unknown, plus USMNT’s bizarre day

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Good morning! Let’s debate … Charles Barkley’s future.

Weird Days: USMNT’s day of hope coincides with a flub

Yesterday was supposed to be a great day for the USMNT. Mauricio Pochettino, a manager draped in English Premier League glory, is officially the team’s coach for the 2026 World Cup run. Huzzah, right?

Elsewhere last night, the team he’ll take over happened to play a friendly against lowly New Zealand, and it ended in a disastrous 1-1 draw, days after another putrid performance against Canada. Just look at last night’s equalizer in the 89th minute:

USMNT concede an unfortunate late equalizer to New Zealand 🥴 pic.twitter.com/SwOlkFrESK

— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 11, 2024

Regardless, the day should still be a positive one for the program. Paul Tenorio and Adam Crafton wrote the definitive story of how “Poch” got hired, thanks to assists from new USWNT manager Emma Hayes and Argentinian steak.

Also: In the latest “The Athletic FC” episode, the crew wondered if Pochettino is the right fit for the USMNT. Smart stuff in there.

Everyone Loves Chuck: America’s favorite free agent

There may be no sports announcer more beloved than Charles Barkley. Outside of corporate boardrooms, there’s been little reason for fans to follow along with the NBA rights deal saga — other than Barkley, who anchors TNT’s coverage and the hearts of basketball fans everywhere.

To briefly recap: TNT is on the verge of losing its rights package, yet Barkley has said he plans to honor the long-term contract he signed with the network three years ago.

• But ESPN chief of content Burke Magnus said yesterday the network would be extremely interested in Barkleyshould he become a free agent after the season, when TNT is scheduled to lose NBA rights.
• Magnus added: “The entire industry is interested.” NBC chairman Mark Lazarus confirmed his network would be interested, too.

So … is Barkley leaving? He hasn’t wavered publicly from his commitment to TNT, but it’s hard to imagine his schedule including no NBA programming.

I want to circle back to Andrew Marchand’s column on Barkley from two months ago, when Barkley said he would retire if TNT lost rights. The beloved star has since pivoted. I asked Andrew if, even after proclaimed fealty to TNT, there’s a chance Barkley ends up somewhere else:

Andrew: He’s Charles Barkley. What has made him the greatest sports studio analyst in history is: He’s unpredictable. That usually describes what he says, but it could also be his actions. In the last few months, with TNT Sports on the verge of losing the NBA, he has declared he’s a free agent, retired and announced his return for the longer haul with TNT. So you want me to predict? I think anything is possible, though the plan right now is to keep to the TNT Sports commitment of what he told me is a 10-year, $210 million contract. But, check back tomorrow.

We can do that. Moving on:

News to Know

NFL not investigating 49ers
Controversy swirled Monday night after San Francisco running back Jordan Mason mentioned in a postgame interview that coaches told him last Friday he’d be starting — despite Christian McCaffrey being listed as questionable, not out. A league source told The Athletic’s Matt Barrows the NFL has not been in contact regarding the apparent discrepancy, however, and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game he simply told Mason “to be ready.” Hm. Full report here.

More news

• As we wait on potential fallout from Deshaun Watson’s latest lawsuit, we have an informative timeline of his legal concerns.
  
• Adrian Newey is heading to Aston Martin, a coup for the legendary F1 outfit. It was years in the making.
  
• Nick Robertson and the Toronto Maple Leafs ended their contract disagreement. He will enter training camp with a new deal.
  

Bubble Watch: Are you OK, Oregon?

Sorry to keep saying this, but: It is extremely cool we now get to do 12-team bubble watch throughout the entire college football season. The tumultuous conference realignment of the last two years has its downsides, but this is not one of them.

Our full Week 3 Bubble Watch is here, and I want to highlight three games this weekend that could have a huge impact:

1. No. 9 Oregon at Oregon State
Can the Ducks keep getting away with close wins? They were expected to romp through the regular season, and in an extremely plausible alternate timeline, they are 0-2 right now. And these Beavers are better than Idaho. Oregon can definitely withstand a loss and still make the Playoff, but I’m becoming less sure they can make it through this schedule unscathed.

2. No. 20 Arizona at No. 14 Kansas State
K-State was also a pundit favorite heading into the year and barely escaped Tulane last weekend with a win. Arizona is 2-0 and has a superstar pairing of QB and WR. Our metric has the purple Wildcats as “in the mix” for a CFP berth, with the red Wildcats in the “keep an eye on” category. Whoever wins might get bumped up a spot.

3. No. 16 LSU at South Carolina
Look, I wish my Tigers weren’t here. The Gamecocks looked great in a blowout road win over Kentucky last weekend, but LSU didn’t really pass the eye test in a win at home over Nicholls State. Considering upcoming schedules, the loser here is all but out. Pressure. Sigh.

On the other side of pressure? USC, who beat LSU in the season opener and suddenly has a new outlook on life in the Big Ten. Plus the 2-0 Trojans are off this weekend.

P.S. A definitely weird quirk of our realignment reality: The Apple Cup, traditionally played around Thanksgiving between two Pac-12 teams, is now happening Saturday between the Pac-2’s Washington State and the Big Ten’s Washington. Feels off.

Watch and Listen

📺 WNBA: Aces at Fever
7 p.m. ET on NBA TV
Amid all the Caitlin Clark hullabaloo, Indiana has turned into one of the best teams in the league. They are 11-4 since July 1, and here comes the presumptive MVP, A’ja Wilson.

📺 MLB: Royals at Yankees
7:05 p.m. ET on Prime Video
New York is in a tight division race, Aaron Judge is trying to beat his own home run record and Kansas City still has a shot at a division title. Click.

Stream games like these here and get tickets here.

🎧 The “No Dunks” gang drafted the best NBA players 21 and under, which was very fun. Listen here.

Pulse Picks

A great story today: Former Giants offensive lineman Jason Whittle should be known for his community work after 9/11. Instead, he can’t shake a false viral internet rumor. Make time for this.

If Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders wants to be drafted No. 1, as Jim Trotter writes this morning, he needs to start acting like it.

Tom Brady might have been shaky as a broadcaster in Week 1, but his old coach Bill Belichick? Rave reviews from Richard Deitsch.

Want to overreact to NFL Week 1? Josh Kendall has updated Power Rankings where we do exactly that.

The entertainment world mourned James Earl Jones’ passing Monday. His impact on baseball, as Steve Buckley wrote yesterday, should not be forgotten.

Across the ocean, Chelsea’s ownership group — headed by American Todd Boehly — is at a breaking point. Fascinating read here.

I enjoyed Sam Amick’s conversation with DeMar DeRozan, the newest Sacramento King, who opened up on mental health issues and the idea of vulnerability. His comments are worth reading.

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Zack Rosenblatt’s excellent feature on Aaron Rodgers’ hometown, where the population might have a different opinion of the QB than you — for valid reason.

Most-read on the website yesterday: Those Week 2 fantasy football waiver wire recommendations.

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