Talented, brilliant, incredible
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Welcome to Wednesday!
Take a mid-week moment to remember legendary MLBer Jackie Robinson, who was recognized across the league with yesterday’s annual Jackie Robinson Day celebrations. Here’s to the ultimate trailblazer as we round the bases on today’s news.
— 2025 No. 1 overall WNBA Draft pick Paige Bueckers, who’ll be brushing up on her local lingo as she prepares to join the Dallas Wings. Can’t wait to see what she cooks up.
Northern Super League
⚽ At long last
The GIST: It’s here — the Northern Super League (NSL), Canada’s new pro women’s soccer league, makes its long-awaited debut tonight at 10 p.m. ET, with Calgary Wild FC taking on Vancouver Rise FC in the inaugural match.
- Ahead of the first whistle, here’s everything you need to know about the NSL, including how it stands to impact the Great White North’s footy landscape.
NSL will help foster CanWNT’s FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) ambitions: The Red and White are no strangers to the international stage, having won one gold and two bronze Olympic medals. But there’s one thing every WWC–winning team has in common: a domestic league of their own.
- That’s where Diana Matheson, a former CanWNT star herself, drew her inspiration after retiring from the pitch three years ago. With the launch of the NSL, Canadian talent will now have a place to grow and develop on home turf instead of heading abroad.
- What’s more, thanks to CanWNT’s decades-long cultural impact, the NSL already has a built-in fan base of women’s footy supporters, not to mention a stacked investor roster including track & field icon Andre De Grasse and the incomparable Christine Sinclair.
Now let’s get to the teams: The NSL will feature six squads — Halifax Tides FC, Montreal Roses FC, Ottawa Rapid FC, AFC Toronto, Calgary Wild FC, and Vancouver Rise FC — for its first two seasons, with the intention of eventually expanding further across Canada.
- Tonight’s headliner will see 17 Canadian players on the pitch, among them Vancouver veteran midfielder Quinn and Calgary winger (and former GIST employee!) Christie Gray. There’s no place like home.
🏆 No. 7 seeds locked in after Orlando Magic and Golden State Warriors win last night’s NBA Play-In Tournament openers
The stifling Magic defense silenced the Atlanta Hawks in a 120–95 dub, setting up a first-round matchup against the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 Boston Celtics. Then, it was the Warriors’ turn, and Steph Curry was clutch, knocking down two timely threes to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 121–116 and secure a first-round date with the Western Conference’s No. 2 Houston Rockets.
- The postseason journey isn’t over for the Hawks and Grizz though: They’ll play the winners of tonight’s games — the No. 9 Chicago Bulls vs. the No. 10 Miami Heat at 7:30 p.m. ET and the No. 9 Sacramento Kings vs. the No. 10 Dallas Mavericks at 10 p.m. ET — with the eighth and final playoff spot in each conference on the line.
- In other NBA news, Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard will miss the start of the playoffs with a blood clot but could be cleared soon, while the vacation-bound Phoenix Suns are hunting for their third head coach in as many years after firing Mike Budenholzer on Monday.
🏀 Monday’s WNBA Draft second-most viewed in league history
An average of 1.25M viewers tuned in as the aforementioned Bueckers was selected No. 1 overall by the Wings (as expected) — but there was plenty of additional starpower (with ’fits to match). French phenom Dominique Malonga went No. 2 overall to the Seattle Storm, while Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron one-upped her NFL boyfriend, going third to the Washington Mystics.
- Other big names to come off the board? USC’s Kiki Iriafen, who’ll join Citron in the District as the No. 4 overall pick, and TCU’s Hailey Van Lith, who’ll be reunited with former LSU teammate Angel Reese after being taken 11th by the Chicago Sky.
- And there was even a little Red and White in the mix: The Indiana Fever selected Calgary’s own Yvonne Ejim in the third round (No. 33 overall). Eh-xcellent.
🏒 NHL postseason picture nearly complete with two regular-season game days remaining
Seven of the eight first-round matchups are set, meaning our pro men’s hockey bracket challenge will be coming your way soon. The only squad awaiting their first-round opponent? The Eastern Conference’s top dog, the Washington Capitals. The Montreal Canadiens have a stranglehold on that final Wild Card spot, barring a late surge from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
- Elsewhere, both the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues won their respective games last night, clinching the Western Conference’s two Wild Card spots and eliminating the Calgary Flames from postseason contention.
- But the matchup every Canadian hockey fan has their eyes on is the Battle of Ontario series between the Toronto Maple Leafs, who secured the Atlantic Division title last night, and the Ottawa Senators. Icy and spicy.
Together With RBC Training Ground
🤝 Olympic dreams meet opportunity
RBC Training Ground has a knack for finding future Olympians. That’s why every year, they travel across Canada hosting free qualifying events to identify and support athletes with Olympic potential. Now that’s a savvy investment.
- And this year, they’re making high-performance sport even more accessible to young Canadian athletes by visiting not one but two new locations: Yellowknife, NWT, and Windsor, ON.
Even better? Twenty-one RBC Training Ground alums — including four (!!!) members of Canada’s silver medal–winning rugby sevens team — have competed in a Games, meaning this program works. Sign up for a free qualifying event today and kickstart your own Olympic journey.
- And if cheering your heart out is your preferred style of cardio, follow @RBCTrainingGround on Instagram to learn more about the next generation of Canadian superstars.
⚾ MLB: Atlanta Braves vs. Toronto Blue Jays — Today at 1:07 p.m. ET — Sportsnet
- Shortstop Bo Bichette has been getting his groove back this season, hitting a double and scoring a run in last night’s 6–3 win over Atlanta as contract talks swirl. Fingers crossed for more chart-topping hits when the bluebirds swing to snag the series this afternoon.
🏒 IIHF Women’s World Championship: Canada vs. Japan — Tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. ET — TSN
- The Canucks have a crown to defend, and the journey back to the ’ship begins with this quarter-final tilt. Luckily, the Canadians boast one of the best in the biz: Marie-Philip Poulin, aka the tourney’s leading scorer. Captain Clutch, indeed.
🏐 PVF: Grand Rapids Rise vs. Omaha Supernovas — Tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET — VBTV
- With the regular season winding down, the Supernovas will be looking to take a commanding lead atop the PVF standings. But in order to do so, they’ll have to thwart the Rise, who are surging after last week’s block party win against the Indy Ignite.
Together With Truly Hard Seltzer
👋 Think you’re hockey’s next social media star? Then we want to hear from you.
The GIST is teaming up with Truly Hard Seltzer to elevate underrepresented voices in the hockey community, launching a contest to find Canada’s Next Great Hockey Creator.
- What’s on the line? Beyond partnering with Truly, the winner will receive $10K, opportunities with The GIST, and lots of Truly.
- On top of that, we're sending the winner to the 2025 Stanley Cup® Finals, with access to exclusive opportunities with the NHL®. Believing is half the battle — shoot your shot and enter today.
Hi. It’s us. We’re the recommenders, it’s us.
👯 Who to know
Laviai and Lina Nielsen, identical twins and Olympic medalists doing it all while managing MS. A story of grit and sisterhood.
🌱 What to do
Compost. Under Armour just dropped a fully plant-based, biodegradable sportswear line. Look good, feel good, indeed.
👀 What’s getting a glow-up
Our Sunday Scroll. Stay tuned for something new hitting your inbox Sunday morning — can’t wait.
Question of the Day
Get this: The global party supply market is projected to reach $28.9B by 2031, due in part to the growing demand for themed events. A key aspect of these parties? Beverages, of course. What are your thoughts on themed cocktails?
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