{"id":2098856,"date":"2026-08-18T10:13:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T07:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2098856"},"modified":"2026-08-18T10:13:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T07:13:14","slug":"a-very-normal-day-in-l-a-plus-the-ap-top-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2098856","title":{"rendered":"A very normal day in L.A., plus the AP Top 25"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p><strong><span>The Pulse Newsletter <\/span><\/strong>\ud83d\udce3<span> | This is <em>The Athletic\u2019<\/em>s daily sports newsletter. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/newsletters\/the-pulse\/\"><span>Sign up here<\/span><\/a><span> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><span>Good morning! Watch your shoelaces today. Coming up:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span>\ud83e\udee0 Inside the Lakers\u2019 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7520209\/2026\/08\/17\/jeanie-buss-opposed-lakers-sale-iger-kushner\/\"><span>drama<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span>\ud83d\ude43 The Clippers, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7518622\/2026\/08\/17\/kawhi-leonard-la-clippers-investigation-timeframe-results\/\"><span>too<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span>\ud83c\udfc8 AP Top 25 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7519231\/2026\/08\/17\/ap-top-25-poll-college-football-overrated-underrated\/\"><span>takes<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<h3><b><strong>Paperwork: The Clippers and Lakers had a weird day<\/strong><\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span>In 1979, Jerry Buss bought the Lakers. For 46 years, even after Buss died in 2013, the team\u2019s ownership remained relatively stable. To describe the last 14 months as \u201cchaos\u201d feels light, at this point.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Let\u2019s just do a quick timeline recap, punctuated by yesterday\u2019s wild updates:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>June 2025: <\/b><span>The Buss family <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6436238\/2025\/06\/18\/lakers-sold-mark-walter-twg-jeanie-buss-family\/\"><span>agreed<\/span><\/a><span> to sell the Lakers to Dodgers owner Mark Walter at a $10 billion valuation. Jeanie Buss, daughter of Jerry, remained as the team\u2019s governor, a role she held since her father died. It\u2019s big news, but nothing seems amiss.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Six days ago:<\/b><span> Walter <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7508177\/2026\/08\/12\/los-angeles-lakers-sale-mark-walter-bob-iger-joshua-kushner\/\"><span>agreed<\/span><\/a><span> to sell the franchise to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and investor Joshua Kushner at a $12.5 billion valuation. Eye-popping news for such a valuable franchise, but few details emerge about why, at least outside of a $2.5 billion jump in price.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Yesterday morning: <\/b><i><span>The Athletic <\/span><\/i><span>published a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7517341\/2026\/08\/17\/mark-walter-lakers-sale-federal-investigation\/\"><span>story<\/span><\/a><span> detailing multiple investigations into Walter\u2019s other businesses. Meanwhile, sources inside the organization said the Walter regime prioritized immediate profits over long-term infrastructure investments. Hm. A few hours later, news breaks that Walter is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7519895\/2026\/08\/17\/todd-boehly-mark-walter-chelsea-shares-sales\/\"><span>in talks to sell<\/span><\/a><span> his shares in Premier League club Chelsea.\u00a0<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Yesterday afternoon:<\/b><span> We reported the Buss family<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7519719\/2026\/08\/17\/lakers-buss-family-sale-jeanie-governor\/\"> <span>plans to sell<\/span><\/a><span> its remaining shares in the Lakers (17.8 percent) to the new owners, Iger and Kushner. When Jerry Buss died, he left his shares to his six children, equally, in a family trust. But hours after that report, Jeanie Buss said she<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7520209\/2026\/08\/17\/jeanie-buss-opposed-lakers-sale-iger-kushner\/\"> <span>was against the plan<\/span><\/a><span> and the trust would not sell. It\u2019s messy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>Feeling light and rested? Because there\u2019s a new update to the other predicament across town:<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_6601194\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-6601194 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2025\/09\/05081127\/GettyImages-1923996195-1024x683.jpg\" alt width=\"1024\" height=\"683\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">Sean M. Haffey \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>ESPN reported yesterday that the NBA, during its investigation into the Clippers for possible salary-cap circumvention, found no evidence that owner Steve Ballmer paid star player Kawhi Leonard illicitly. This came after months of reporting and inquiry, all triggered by a report from \u201cPablo Torre Finds Out.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span>Quickly after ESPN published its report, <\/span><b>the NBA released a statement saying the story \u201ccontains numerous and significant inaccuracies,\u201d<\/b><span> adding that the league\u2019s investigation has not concluded. In a follow-up statement to <\/span><i><span>The Athletic<\/span><\/i><span>, an ESPN spokesman said the company stands by its reporting. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7519304\/2026\/08\/17\/clippers-kawhi-leonard-investigation-nba-statement-espn-inaccuracies\/\"><span>More details here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>We\u2019re about to hit a year since the NBA initially began its inquiry into the Clippers. <\/b><span>Leonard\u2019s status for the 2026-27 season hangs in the balance, as his trade to the Raptors cannot go through until the investigation concludes. <\/span><b>Oh, and also waving in the metaphorical wind: punishment for a high-profile team for allegedly evading the rules.<\/b><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>Mike Vorkunov wrote a well-timed refresher on the entire investigation this morning, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7518622\/2026\/08\/17\/kawhi-leonard-la-clippers-investigation-timeframe-results\/\"><span>which you can read here<\/span><\/a><span>. What a time to be an NBA owner in Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Let\u2019s keep going:<\/span><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3><b>News to Know<\/b><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_7520378\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7520378 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/08\/17194809\/2025-11-01T180215Z_5395543_MT1USATODAY27474124_RTRMADP_3_OHIO-STATE-BUCKEYES-WIDE-RECEIVER-JEREMIAH-SMITH-4-1024x683.jpg\" alt width=\"1024\" height=\"683\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">Adam Cairns \/ Columbus Dispatch<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong><b>Buckeyes take top spot<\/b><\/strong><br \/>\n<span>Ohio State is No. 1 in the first AP Poll of the college football season, earning 40 first-place votes. Oregon is No. 2, which marks the first time since 1987 that two teams from the same conference are Nos. 1 and 2 in the AP preseason poll. That doesn\u2019t surprise me when said conference features 18 teams. <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/nytimes.com\/athletic\/7518569\/2026\/08\/17\/ap-top-25-preseason-poll-cfb-rankings\/\"><span>See the full rankings here<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid1\" data-position=\"mid1\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>David Ubben analyzed the poll and picked overrated and underrated teams. Making his latter list: Texas and, ahem, LSU. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7519231\/2026\/08\/17\/ap-top-25-poll-college-football-overrated-underrated\/\"><span>More inside<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"top-league-content-root\"><\/div>\n<p>    {&#8220;endpoint&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql&#8221;}<\/p>\n<p><strong><b>Padres sale approved<\/b><\/strong><br \/>\n<span>In what is comparatively a straightforward transaction, MLB approved Jos\u00e9 E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones as the new owners of the San Diego Padres yesterday, making an efficient mockery of the basketball teams up the road. Feliciano and Jones are a billionaire couple and purchased 40 percent of the club at a $3.9 billion valuation. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7516437\/2026\/08\/17\/mlb-padres-sale-feliciano-kwanza-jones-approved\/\"><span>Read their story<\/span><\/a><span>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><b>LIV cancels championship<\/b><\/strong><br \/>\n<span>Finally admitting the obvious yesterday, LIV Golf officially canceled its Team Championship, days after pausing ticket sales for the late-August event. This was supposed to be the crowning event of the LIV season, and instead the team champion will be decided this weekend in Indianapolis. Our full story covers some more troubling financial updates, too, including unpaid bills. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7475248\/2026\/08\/17\/liv-golf-team-championship-canceled\/\"><span>Read that here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>More news:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Michael Jordan\u2019s<\/b> <b>jersey<\/b><span> from Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals is going up for sale. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7518247\/2026\/08\/17\/michael-jordan-nba-finals-jersey-auction-last-dance\/\"><span>It might set a record<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Tom Pelissero<\/b><span> didn\u2019t go long without employment, joining <\/span><b>Netflix\u2019s<\/b><span> NFL coverage and The Ringer weeks after NFL Network laid him off. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7519307\/2026\/08\/17\/tom-pelissero-netflix-nfl-hiring\/\"><span>More here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span>Fans wearing <\/span><b>shirts<\/b><span> with messages about <\/span><b>trans athletes<\/b><span> were asked to cover them during Sunday\u2019s <\/span><b>Fever-Dream game. <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7520262\/2026\/08\/17\/fever-dream-fans-trans-athlete-shirts-cover-up\/\"><span>Read our full story<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Jonas Vingegaard<\/b><span> won\u2019t race again this season after breaking his collarbone in the Tour de France. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7518437\/2026\/08\/17\/jonas-vingegaard-2026-season-world-championships-visma\/\"><span>Bummer<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span>The <\/span><b>Premier League<\/b><span> might use <\/span><b>ball chip technology<\/b><span> soon. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7518728\/2026\/08\/17\/premier-league-connected-ball-chip\/\"><span>Details inside<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span>The <\/span><b>Diamondbacks<\/b><span> placed star second baseman <\/span><b>Ketel Marte<\/b><span> on the <\/span><b>restricted list<\/b><span> as they push for a wild-card spot. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7520327\/2026\/08\/17\/ketel-marte-diamondbacks-mlb-restricted-list-red-sox\/\"><span>The relationship between player and team appears strained<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Yankees<\/b><span> pitching updates: <\/span><b>Max Fried<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7520341\/2026\/08\/17\/yankees-max-fried-injury-elbow-bone-bruise\/\"><span>hits<\/span><\/a><span> the injured list, while <\/span><b>Carlos Rod\u00f3n<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7519930\/2026\/08\/17\/carlos-rodon-yankees-return\/\"><span>returns<\/span><\/a><span> to the rotation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\ud83d\udcf0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/news\/\">Find more news here 24\/7<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3><b>Watch Guide<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>\ud83d\udcfa MLB: White Sox at Cubs<br \/>\n<\/b><b>8:05 p.m. ET on TBS<br \/>\n<\/b><span>It\u2019s always fun when these two play and are good. Newly acquired Kevin Gausman is on the mound for the Cubbies. Find a seat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>\ud83d\udcfa WNBA: Dream at Aces<br \/>\n<\/b><b>9 p.m. ET on ESPN<br \/>\n<\/b><span>Easy call here. Two playoff teams featuring big names on both sides. Both prominently featured in our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7518289\/2026\/08\/17\/wnba-power-rankings-caitlin-clark-paige-bueckers-rivalry\/\"><span>latest Power Rankings<\/span><\/a><span>, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>Pulse Picks<\/h3>\n<div class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/08\/15001322\/yankees-1024x671.jpg?width=1440&amp;quality=70&amp;auto=webp\" alt width=\"1440\" height=\"944\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">Sam Blum \/ The Athletic<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>The site of the <\/span><b>old Yankee Stadium<\/b><span> was supposed to be a shrine to the franchise and a community resource. Years later, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7514715\/2026\/08\/18\/new-york-yankees-macombs-dam-park-yankee-stadium-decrepit\/\"><span>that promise is gone<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Rafael J\u00f3dar<\/b><span> is a rising tennis star. He\u2019s not without controversy, though, and it <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7513748\/2026\/08\/17\/tennis-etiquette-rafael-jodar-broken-shoelaces-cincinnati-open\/\"><span>has to do with his <\/span><b>shoelaces<\/b><\/a><b>.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Daniel Popper has a helpful list of the <\/span><b>NFL roster bubble players<\/b><span> who stood out in Week 1 of the preseason. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7519700\/2026\/08\/18\/nfl-preseason-roster-bubble-stock-watch\/\"><span>Root for these guys<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>My vote for <\/span><b>MLB<\/b><span> Manager of the Year: <\/span><b>Boston\u2019s Chad Tracy,<\/b><span> who was thrown into chaos and now has the Red Sox contending. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7499240\/2026\/08\/17\/red-sox-chad-tracy-coaches-relationships\/\"><span>Read how he did it<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid2\" data-position=\"mid2\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>I loved this story from<\/span><b> Scotland,<\/b><span> where a <\/span><b>masked goalkeeper<\/b><span> executed a flashy trick pass over the weekend that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7516693\/2026\/08\/17\/goalkeeper-rabona-scotland-aberdeen-muller\/\"><span>left everyone stunned<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I missed this earlier in the week, but one <\/span><b>French soccer club<\/b><span> is making its <\/span><b>scarves<\/b><span> an <\/span><b>alternate season ticket<\/b><span> to enhance the game day experience. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7517158\/2026\/08\/16\/dijon-scarves-season-tickets\/\"><span>Such a good, fun idea<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday<\/b><span>: \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7516007\/2026\/08\/16\/new-highmark-stadium-grass-field-issues\/\"><span>The field is ass<\/span><\/a><span>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Most-read on the website yesterday<\/b><span>: Our Premier League <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7510781\/2026\/08\/17\/premier-league-predictions-2026-2027\/\"><span>predictions<\/span><\/a><span>, which we\u2019ll talk about again this week.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"comments_section\"><span>\ud83d\udceb That\u2019s all for now! Say hello at <\/span><a href=\"mailto:thepulse@theathletic.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><span>thepulse@theathletic.com<\/span><\/a><span>, check out <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5803046\/2025\/12\/31\/the-athletic-newsletters-sign-up\/\"><span>our other newsletters<\/span><\/a><span> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/realchrisbranch\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><span>connect with me on Instagram<\/span><\/a><span> for more.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Watch your shoelaces today. Coming up:\u00a0 \ud83e\udee0 Inside the Lakers\u2019 drama \ud83d\ude43 The Clippers, too \ud83c\udfc8 AP Top 25 takes Paperwork: The Clippers and Lakers had a weird day In [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2098856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2098856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2098856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2098856\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2098856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2098856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2098856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}