Sports Daily: Kirk Cousins, TV star

Hey, y’all.

Which one do you think is burning hotter today: the summer sun, Ronald Acuña Jr.’s passion for crushing baseballs (and the Mets) … or Kirk Cousins’ desire for attention?

Let’s start with the latter.

Quick links: Braves beat Mets (again) | Hawks ‘locked in’ with Trae | Messi returning to Atlanta

MUST-SEE TELEVISION?

Credit: Mike Stewart/AP

Credit: Mike Stewart/AP

Kirk Cousins is featured in the new season of the Netflix series “Quarterback,” which premieres July 8. It was filmed throughout last season.

And while the newest trailer seems to focus more on co-stars Joe Burrow and Jared Goff, it also shows Cousins doing a lot of things: throwing a touchdown pass to Drake London; getting demolished by Saints defenders; drinking what he calls a “hard-earned Roy Rogers” (that’s a Coke with grenadine and no booze, apparently).

Riveting stuff. I might even watch.

Partly out of … spite? I’m a Falcons season ticket holder and we have an extremely love-hate relationship. I can’t help myself.

But also because I fully expect to learn these nine (extremely real) things.

1️⃣ Cousins was irate when the Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr. He said “dang,” and even “shoot,” several times. Out loud.

2️⃣ The whole “tampering” thing was a big misunderstanding. He thought he was getting a tour of the local Kohl’s outlet.

3️⃣ That “Dirty Birds” chain turned his neck green.

4️⃣ He really is a good teammate — but he doesn’t really enjoy swag surfin’ (which, to be clear, is an imminently reasonable position).

5️⃣ He sometimes yells “You like that?” at his family during dinner.

6️⃣ Most of his career earnings are tied up in low-yield government bonds.

7️⃣ That offseason trip to Cleveland, Ohio, was part of Cousins’ lifelong mission to visit a Chipotle restaurant in every state. He’s up to 32 now (and never orders guac; too spicy).

8️⃣ He discussed all of that during his Oval Office visit with Donald Trump.

9️⃣ And, finally … THAT MAN ABSOLUTELY KNEW HE WAS TOO HURT TO PLAY EFFECTIVELY AFTER THE HIT IN NEW ORLEANS IN WEEK 10 BUT DOWNPLAYED IT BECAUSE HE DIDN’T WANT THE ROOKIE TO TAKE HIS JOB AND KEEP IT.

Again, just guessing here. If any of it’s true, we’ll find out together.

And either way, Mr. Cousins will enjoy his time in the spotlight — then resume holding a clipboard.

More coverage: A timeline of Kirk Cousins’ Atlanta tenure

ACUÑA, THE MET KILLER

Credit: Pamela Smith/AP

Credit: Pamela Smith/AP

Michael Harris II’s sac fly got the scoring started. Spencer Schwellenbach went seven strong innings. And Dylan Lee’s gutsy eighth-inning strikeout of Mets slugger Juan Soto helped seal a fourth straight Braves win over New York.

But it was Ronald Acuña Jr. who found himself reveling in the boobirds (and the other, ruder kind of bird) after launching another home run into the Citi Field seats.

And when I say reveling, I mean it.

❤️ Said Acuña, via team interpreter Franco Garcia: “It feels like when I hear those boos, it’s hard to describe it, but it’s like I get more confidence. It’s good to have rivalries between lots of different teams. It just helps add to the emotion and the excitement of the game. It just sets the stage to do some cool stuff when you’re playing each other.”

Acuña — who currently sits fourth among outfielders in All-Star game fan voting — now has 17 homers in 87 career games against the Mets.

ANOTHER NEW YORK VILLIAN …

… is sticking around the ATL for a while. Or, you know, at least one more year.

We’re saving our real NBA draft-stravaganza for tomorrow’s edition of Sports Daily. But I will go ahead and share this newsy little morsel from the AJC’s recent sit-down with Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh: The team is committed to star Trae Young, who’s under contract for the upcoming season and has a player option in 2026-27.

🗣️ Said Saleh: “We’re locked in with Trae. We talked last year (about) next season. We’re just locked in the next season, ready to move forward and be the best team that we could possibly be moving forward.”

As columnist Ken Sugiura writes, Saleh’s draft decisions will play a significant role in what happens after that.

SOCCER CENTRAL

Credit: Mitch Martin/Atlanta United

Credit: Mitch Martin/Atlanta United

Atlanta United gets back in action Wednesday at Columbus — and the team will be without midfielder Jay Fortune, for that match and probably the rest of the season.

Club World Cup action returns to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday for knockout round action. And now we know the matchup.

CROOTIN’ SEASON

🐶 Georgia football beat out Alabama to land a commitment from Khamari Brooks, a four-star edge from North Oconee (he’s 6-foot-4, 230 pounds already). And as our friends from DawgNation report, you can expect plenty more recruiting news out of Athens this week.

🐝 Georgia Tech, meanwhile, is still trying to lure a new athletic director to Atlanta. Which is fine … but the Jackets would probably prefer to have someone in place before July 1, when schools can begin compensating athletes directly.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Credit: Pamela Smith/AP

Credit: Pamela Smith/AP

OK, OK, one more Acuña photo. And quote.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.

Until next time.