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Good morning! Come out of retirement in something fun today. Coming up:
Football: The Rams’ colliding past, present and future
The 12-5 Rams were one of the best teams in football last year. Matthew Stafford finally won his first MVP, then agreed to return for 2026. Around him, the team has had a buzzy offseason, with a mix of developments that feel like they correspond to the franchise’s different eras:
- The future: Drafting QB Ty Simpson with the 13th pick. The Alabama product won’t play as long as his 38-year-old colleague, Stafford, is on the roster. GM Les Snead could’ve used that pick on someone designed to maximize his remaining time with a Hall of Fame QB, but he opted to put a succession plan in motion instead. (Here’s Jourdan Rodrigue explaining how the GM saw the board.)
- The present: Trading last week for Myles Garrett. Acquiring the best defensive player alive, fresh off setting the sacks record, qualifies as “win-now,” yeah. It cost them Jared Verse, an excellent edge defender in his own right, plus a handful of premium draft picks. You only do this if you think you can win it all this year. And it’s not just Garrett: Trent McDuffie, the star cornerback from the Chiefs, cost them a 2026 first-rounder.
- The … past? Aaron Donald retired after 2023, at 32 and with a lot of good football left in him. He says the Garrett trade stirred up the idea of coming back. Donald is 35, the same age the Steelers’ Cam Heyward was when he earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2024. (He was second-team in 2025.) It’s natural for our imaginations to run wild.
Whether Donald gets serious about a return or not, it’s been an unusual few months. The Rams made the ultimate forward-looking move by picking Simpson to sit him down behind Stafford. They then planted their feet firmly in the here and now with the Garrett deal, aiming to improve a 12-5 team from a year ago as Stafford inches closer to his own retirement.
A curious sequence, even though Snead and coach Sean McVay have earned the benefit of the doubt. Let’s tag in the aforementioned Jourdan Rodrigue, senior NFL writer for The Athletic and a former Rams beat reporter who knows the organization well. I put the issue to her: Do you see this confluence of moves as a sensible balancing of present and future (and maybe past), or as a sign of a front office that can’t make up its mind about a direction?
đź’¬I know that the Rams at least believe they are balancing the present and future of this roster (we’ll just have to wait to see if they’ll be successful) with an attempt at creating a higher floor on the other side of whatever this championship push will ultimately cost them.Â
Much of their roster is still built largely through very strong draft classes in 2023-24, with a select number of the ’23 class primed to receive contract extensions right when it may become necessary for the Rams to be cost-controlled at starting quarterback. (We don’t know how much longer Stafford will play; much depends on the result of this season in my opinion.) Beyond their drafted players, those who were acquired as a part of this all-in push are on multi-year deals (Garrett, Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson), as are other members of their core (Quentin Lake, Kyren Williams).Â
As one Rams source put it to me, it’s not just about going all in to try to win a Super Bowl this season but to be “built better” on the other side.
It’s not an outrageous plan. What does Donald think of it?
News to Know
Vegas survives collapse for 2-1 series lead
Where do we start? Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final was:
- 0-0 at the midway point
- 4-0 Vegas seven minutes later
- 4-0 Vegas with 13 minutes left
- 4-4 at the end of regulation
The Golden Knights had two goals overturned in four minutes! Mitch Marner scored a hat trick in just over six minutes! The Hurricanes scored three goals in 39 seconds! They tied it with under two minutes left! Ultimately, the game ended with a bit of a thud in double OT when Shea Theodore’s wide slapper caromed back off the boards and in off the skate of Carolina goalie Brandon Bussi. But this may already be one of the best Stanley Cup Finals ever. Twenty-five goals. Three outrageous games. And lots to chew on here from our writers.
Andreeva’s Grand Slam breakthrough
It wasn’t a storybook French Open women’s final, but that’s OK. World No. 114 Maja Chwalińska can be proud of her historic run from qualifiers to the final, and Russian 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva officially ascended to the sport’s elite in her 6-3, 6-2 victory. Afterward Chwalińska apologized for not making it more of a match before turning to Andreeva and joking, “You’re so young and talented, it’s so annoying.” The men’s final is this morning (9 a.m. ET on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max): Alexander Zverev in his fourth major final — with no wins yet — against Flavio Cobolli in his first. Follow our live blog here.
More News
- Derby winner Golden Tempo once again stormed to victory in a Triple Crown race, a thrilling Belmont Stakes.
- Without going into detail, Simone Biles said she almost died in a recent medical emergency.
- The Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy won his second Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie.
- NASCAR team owner Richard Childress spoke to media for the first time since Kyle Busch’s death, saying he’d expected to be announcing a Busch contract extension. Brutal.
- “Many” Iranian and African journalists have been denied visas to cover the World Cup in the U.S., according to a sports press association. More here.
đź“°Â Find more news here 24/7.
Bang
Poch says U.S. is ready despite loss
Antonee Robinson uncorked this spectacular volley 👆 to even the score 1-1 in the USMNT’s final World Cup tune-up, but Germany edged them on a second-half winner from Leroy Sané. The Americans enter the tournament having not beaten a top European side in more than a decade, but coach Mauricio Pochettino said he was heartened by his team’s showing.
Watch Guide
Joe Portlock / Getty Images
đź“ş Formula 1: Monaco Grand Prix
9 a.m. ET on Apple TV
Mercedes teen sensation Kimi Antonelli took pole in qualifying and will be difficult to overtake in this narrow street race, the sport’s glitziest event. In his immediate rearview he’ll see Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Monaco’s favorite son, Charles Leclerc (fresh off a contract extension with Ferrari).
📺 Golf: U.S. Women’s Open, Final Round
5 p.m. ET on NBC
World No. 1 Nelly Korda has worked her way up to a tie for first with South Korea’s Sei Young Kim. This should be a terrific Sunday at one of the world’s great championship courses, Riviera Country Club in L.A. You’ll also see the smoothest swing in golf (Korda’s).
Get tickets to games like this here.
Pulse Picks
Illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; Images: Nike
Most-shared features on The Athletic this week:
This slow-cooker hoisin garlic chicken from our Cooking colleagues is a perfect high-taste, low-effort weeknight option. I’ve made it two weeks in a row. — Alex Kirshner
“Widow’s Bay” on Apple TV combines wry local government humor from creator Katie Dippold (“Parks and Rec”), eerie weirdness from producer/director Hiro Murai (“Atlanta”) and note-perfect “WTF?” faces from Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”). It would make no sense if that wasn’t super entertaining, and it is. Scariest and funniest show I’ve seen for a bit. — Matt Piper
Madelene Sagstrom was surprised at going viral for playing the U.S. Women’s Open while 26 weeks pregnant, explaining, “It’s my job.” Fun story here on what it’s like for her to play while carrying a child.
Who are the World Cup favorites and what are they all about? How legit are the host countries? Who are the dark horses? Highly recommend catching up with the past two episodes of “The Totally Football Show” — watch/listen here.
Freezing bread as a concept. I’m deeply ashamed it hasn’t been part of my routine earlier, and lack of foresight has dissuaded me from buying great bread most of the time out of fear that I wouldn’t eat it fast enough. Slice it, freeze it, toss it in the oven for a few minutes when you’re ready. Dream. — Chris Branch
My recent first grade grad is already feeling great about second thanks to these fun summer workbooks. Just grab the next grade up and knock out a page or two all summer. Cheap, fun, and it legit works. (Three summers going!) — Chris Sprow
Sure, Haribo Goldbears are great, but Twin Snakes wear the crown in my house. Elite gummy. — Alex Iniguez
I just got TJ’s Strawberry Fields. Cuter than they are tasty, but not bad! — Torrey Hart
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The chicken shawarma recipe.
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