Helping you plan a great football day, plus seismic news in the WNBA

Good morning! Dip with gusto today. Inside:

Party Time: Five keys to a perfect football game day

Feel that? That slight crisp in the air?* That nearly imperceptible shift in the winds drifting from the nearest football stadium? A minor seismic event somewhere in the Pacific Northwest as the Lombardi Trophy arises from its slumber? Hear that? The harumphing bellows and tinny clash of a college marching band? The distant roar of a crowd?

That, my friends, is the siren call of football season. She is finally here.

* If you live in the continental United States, maybe the crispness was just a blast of A/C. But fall is coming, I swear.

As any self-respecting person born in SEC country, I am ready to lose all sense of self in the festivities and feasts of game day, whether college or NFL. Thanks to a mix of personal gusto and Protestant work ethic, I have hosted my friend group’s Super Bowl party ever since I entered adulthood.

And today, with the help of our friends at Wirecutter, The Pulse has a guide for throwing the perfect game day while avoiding whisper-fighting with your partner. Here are the five keys, whether you’re tailgating or living-room-gating:

1. Get your sights and sounds on lock

For the tailgate, that means the best portable speaker you can get. For the living room, the right TV setup: Wirecutter made a guide for how to set up your TV for live sports during the World Cup, and the same rules apply to live American football. (Tom Cruise may hate motion smoothing for films, but it’s ideal for live sports.)

The perfect game day playlist? Build it with us! Email us your favorite song for a football watch party, and we might add it!

2. Focus on low-lift, high-reward food

Here are 21 of the best tailgating recipes from New York Times Cooking. (Y’all. That buffalo chicken dip. 🤤)

Or, ever heard of Trader Joe’s? (Rhetorical.) Here are their best snacks.

3. Think outside the [beer] box

I mean, obviously have beer. But some of your guests might be off the sauce, gluten-free or, like me, just plain high-maintenance (i.e., a wine-drinker). I love these lists of the best canned cocktails and the best NA beers.

4. Insulation, heard of her?

Don’t be like Coach Taylor and forget the ice. And don’t be like ME and forget that the cooler is in the back of the junk closet under the suitcases and filled with Christmas lights and batteries. (Tami Taylor deserves better.)

Wirecutter has a roundup of the best coolers and a very handy guide for a bad Tetris player like me on how to pack one so you don’t end up with frozen baby carrots and soggy bread.

Oh, and for the other end of the thermal spectrum: Here is the best portable grill.

5. Serve the active and the non-active

Some people love what my husband calls “activities” and what I call “forced fun,” and some people love to gossip, and between those two groups, you need to stock up on fun backyard games and some comfortable seats.

And a few final recommendations from the NFL superfans at Wirecutter: 

• Writer Evan Dent swears by this hard-sided, koozie-esque sleeve for keeping his beer ice-cold — and stopping him from stress-crushing the can during the game.
• Wireless TV headphones are great for watching the action without disturbing roommates or sleeping babies — or for anyone hard of hearing. Says writer Alexander Aciman: “My grandfather wouldn’t be able to hear the TV without them.”
• For a creamy, just-tangy-enough spinach-artichoke dip, newsletters editor Erin Neil’s not-so-secret ingredient is this classic mayonnaise.

Happy football-ing! Sign up for Wirecutter’s daily newsletter to get more expert recommendations.

News to Know

The W seeks a visionary

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s decision to retire at the end of this year isn’t a total surprise, given her contract was up and she had yet to get a ringing endorsement from her boss, NBA commissioner Adam Silver. But there’s little doubt it’s a watershed moment. Consider this: In Engelbert’s seven-year tenure, the league:

• Increased the minimum salary ($270,000) to more than TWICE what the maximum salary was when she started ($117,500)
• Landed an 11-year media rights deal worth $3.1 billion
• Welcomed three expansion teams, with three more to come by 2030

That’s an unreal résumé, and yet it’s pretty hard to square those accomplishments with Engelbert’s broad unpopularity: criticized by players, booed at arenas, disparaged by all sides of the ugly culture war that’s attached itself to the W.

It will be interesting to see who actually wants the job. We’ve got potential candidates here (Condoleezza Rice? 👀). Brian Hamilton writes that whoever’s chosen needs to be “transformative” — it’s a high bar.

Highly recommend watching the “No Offseason” crew digest the news, here.

More News

• Serena and Venus Williams surrendered a 5-0 advantage in a match-deciding tiebreak during the opening round of women’s doubles at the U.S. Open. No shame given their combined age is 90.
• Women’s No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka paused her third-round singles match to complain to the chair umpire about the “strong” smell of marijuana in the stadium.
• The Pro Football Hall of Fame cut its number of voters in half, among other changes, following its snub of first-time-eligible coach Bill Belichick. Details here.
• The Canucks locked down 20-year-old defenseman Zeev Buium for $75 million over eight years — potentially a bargain if he reaches his potential.
• After a yearlong NBA hiatus (during which he bought a pro fishing team), Ben Simmons agreed to a one-year deal with the Kings.
• Caitlin Clark tallied 14 points and 11 assists in her World Cup debut for Team USA, a 94-61 win over China (and 7-foot-4 center Ziyu Zhang).
• Charles Barkley said this will be the last season for him and host Ernie Johnson on “Inside the NBA,” “unless Ernie changes his mind.”
• An initial court date for Packers running back Josh Jacobs, facing two misdemeanor charges stemming from an alleged domestic abuse incident, was moved up two months to next Thursday, before Green Bay’s season opener.

📰 Find more news here 24/7.

Watch Guide

📺 Tennis: U.S. Open third round11 a.m.-11 p.m. ET on ESPN networksThe third round wraps today for both women’s and men’s singles. Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Naomi Osaka and Elena Rybakina all play. Men’s top seed Alexander Zverev headlines the night session. Full slate here.

📺 NCAAF: Clemson vs. No. 11 LSU7:30 p.m. ET on ABCAll eyes on Lane Kiffin, the de facto villain of college football (that link’s by our guy Chris Branch!), and LSU’s roster of … not NFL players? Methinks the entire world may be pulling for Clemson. Full college football schedule here.

📺 MLB: Diamondbacks at Astros | Yankees at Padres7:15 p.m. ET on FoxThe Diamondbacks and Padres are neck and neck in the NL West and wild-card race, while the Yankees are 3.5 games off the top of the AL East and the Astros are just three games ahead of the Rangers at the top of the AL West. In other words: Standings implications in both primetime matchups. Full MLB schedule here.

Get tickets to games like this here.

Pulse Picks

The Women’s Super League returned yesterday, and we could see its power dynamics shift for the first time in recent memory. Here’s a guide to what’s new, key matchups and how to watch.

Listen: New Medium Build record drops today. I’ve been waiting for months for this thing; he’s one of my favorite songwriters. — Levi Weaver

Watch: I’m honestly not sure if this is a hot take, but IMO, “Adults” is the best hangout sitcom of the last decade (Season 2 dropped last month). It’s essentially impossible to enter the genre’s Mount Rushmore, but the thought at least crossed my mind. — Torrey Hart

Eat: Re-upping NYT Cooking’s tailgating recipes list we shared earlier. Twenty-one options inside.

Shop: I recently snagged this iconic, customizable (and currently on-sale!) canvas tote. I’m obsessed with its infinite versatility. Think: beach runs, yoga class schleps and office commutes. As one of Wirecutter’s deal experts, I can say with authority that it’s the best deal I’ve seen this Labor Day weekend. Though if you’re in the market for something else, there are plenty more we’re rounding up here. — Kaitlin Mahar

From the archive: What happens when college football games are only for the rich? Matt Baker explored the dilemma last year, still plenty relevant as swelling costs continue to plague the U.S. sports fan experience.

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The resignation of UNC football GM Michael Lombardi as the investigation now includes the entire program. Full story here.

📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.