The NFL schedule reveal would be cooler if it was a total mystery

Good morning, Winners! This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Here’s Mike Sykes.

Every year, the NFL turns its schedule release into a big event. It's become a whole thing. There's even a reveal to let us know when the reveal is now, which feels pretty ridiculous and superfluous to anyone who doesn't make content.

Speaking of making content, every year, teams across the league release their schedule on social media using different bits and pop culture themes. It's fun. We make a really cool post out of it, ranking them all for you because that's what we do. And then, once everyone's schedule is out, we all go back to our regularly scheduled business.

This is all cool. But I feel like we can do this better. I feel like we need to lean into anticipation a bit more. How do we do that? Here's my proposal:

Don't reveal the schedule at all.

WAIT. JUST WAIT. Before you curse me, just hear me out.

We don't really need a schedule reveal, guys. I mean, sure. Maybe if you're invested in debates about which is better between Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football, or you're a tinfoil hat NFL conspiracy theorist who thinks the schedulers just revealed that Aaron Rodgers will be a Steeler (Did they?!?!), then maybe this is something that you're into.

But I know y'all. I've been writing for you for years. I've seen how much you obsess over the NFL and your favorite teams. Trust me when I say this: You are watching these games regardless of whether you know who is playing when and where. The schedule reveal is only a thing because y'all love to map out what your team's record will be before the season starts, as if things ever pan out the way you think they will anyway.

So, with that in mind, I propose this: Why don't we keep the schedule a mystery? You find out who your team plays every week after it plays on Sundays. It'll be like watching your favorite TV show.

I remember growing up watching Dragon Ball Z as a kid. One of the best parts of the show was the whole, "Next time, on DRAGON BALL Z!" preview for the next episode. The announcer would cook. Imagine that for an NFL game. Just picture that, but with your favorite team.

I'll give you a quick Eagles promo for fun here:

"Can Jalen Hurts work his magic again against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs? Will Saquon Barkley rush for more than 26 yards next week or did spending too much time inhaling Cybertruck fumes this offseason with Adin Ross cook him? Find out, next time, on Eagles watch!"

And that, folks, would be how Eagles fans figure out they play the Super Bowl rematch against the Chiefs in Week 2. Think about the drama. The anticipation. The stakes! Imagine the heartache fans would experience when finding out their team has to bounce back from a tough loss against a juggernaut. Or think of the elation they'd experience when finding out they should stack up another win against one of the league's worst teams.

This would be cinema. Personally, I'd much rather have that than the silly trolls we get from the league's teams year after year. Are they funny? Sure. But they're not serious.

This will never happen. The NFL has too many ads to sell, and these teams want you to buy tickets to their games. No one will do that if everything is a mystery. Well, actually, I take that back. They probably would, considering everyone's obsession with football. Luckily, the NFL still respects its fans enough not to sell them mystery tickets.

But, hey, man. A guy can dream.

Bye-bye, Warriors

Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle and the Timberwolves might've ended the Warriors' Steph Curry era with a whimper.

After Curry's Game 1 hamstring injury, the team's entire goal shifted from winning the series to simply winning a game to see if he could get back for Game 6 and give Golden State a puncher's chance in this series. They couldn't even do that.

Instead, Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski were the two best players on a team employing Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. That's how badly things went.

STEPH IS STUNNED: We got a new Steph Curry meme, folks.

I'm not sure what the Warriors can do to improve this offseason. Maybe it's a matter of simply getting (and staying!) healthy. But when your supposed best three players are all 35 and older, that certainly doesn't feel very likely. We'll see.

One thing is for sure, though: With Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant all absent from these playoffs, it's safe to say the NBA's new guard has officially arrived.

Your reminder that the WNBA season starts on Friday

Caitlin Clark seems extremely ready, if we're judging by this shot from Fever practice. The dude guarding her did a great job — it just didn't matter.

This play has everyone so hyped for this season and Clark's sophomore year in the W. Andrew Joseph has more on that for you here.

This is going to be so much fun.

Quick hits: The best and worst NFL primetime games ... WNBA predictions ... and more

— There's lots of good on the NFL primetime schedule, but there's lots of bad, too. Hope you like the Jets and Patriots, folks!

— Here are our predictions for the WNBA season as a staff. Go Aces. Make me look right.

— Prince Grimes put together a WNBA betting guide for the season. Say thank you.

— Robert Zeglinski put together a ranking of the most annoying ads of the NBA playoffs so far. I've seen Jalen Green so much this postseason.

— Here we ranked the NFL's schedule release videos from worst to best. Hope you enjoy them.

— Cory Woodroof says that Michael Penix Jr. is the reason the Falcons have five primetime games.

That's a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️