Olympics Edition — Day 3: A real super Sunday
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Good morning!
Feeling the post-Super Bowl blues? We have just the fix: Another full day of Olympic action — and Bad Bunny’s electric halftime show on repeat. Fittingly, today’s newsletter is equal parts Big Game recap and the latest from Milano Cortina. Let’s dance.
🥇 | 🥈 | 🥉 | Total | |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 🇺🇲 USA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 |
| 🇨🇦 Canada (13th) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
NFL
🏈 It’s all grand, and it’s all green
The GIST: The best course of action in life’s big moments? A return to the classics, like Dunkin’s star-studded Super Bowl commercial and the Seattle Seahawks’ defense-focused gameplan in last night’s 29–13 Vince Lombardi Trophy–clinching win over the New England Patriots. Let’s dig into the deets.
💚 Seahawks put on defensive masterclass: The best scoring defense in the league leaned into its bread and butter yesterday, shutting down the Patriots’ offense and tossing in six sacks, three turnovers, and a defensive touchdown to boot. In fact, New England didn’t score a single point until the fourth quarter. Turns out defense really does win championships.
- The Patriots D held off the quarterback Sam Darnold–led Seahawks offense for much of the game, too. And that’s when having a world-class kicker came in handy: Seattle’s Jason Myers knocked through an NFL–record five field goals.
- As for the game’s MVP, running back Kenneth Walker III ran for a whopping 135 yards, finding holes in the Patriots defense with the perfect combination of patience, speed, and elusiveness.
🎤 Bad Bunny sparks joy in halftime show: It’s Benito’s casita, and we’re all just living in it. The pop star’s high-energy love letter to Puerto Rico started with his bop “Tití Me Preguntó,” featured guest appearances from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, included a literal wedding, and ended with a powerful message: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” Consider the mic, dropped.
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🥉💨⛸️ Canadian speedskater and five-time Olympian Valérie Maltais finally nabbed that elusive individual medal, earning bronze in Saturday’s 3,000m to secure Canada’s first medal of the Games.
- 🥇 Italian Francesca Lollobrigida won the event (the host country’s first-ever women’s speedskating gold), setting an Olympic record in the process. All in a day’s work for this supermom.
⛷️ American skiing icon Lindsey Vonn was airlifted off the mountain after a scary crash during yesterday’s women’s downhill competition. Already competing on a ruptured ACL, Vonn underwent surgery on the fractured leg and is in stable condition.
- 🇨🇦 As for the Canadians, Cassidy Gray finished 26th, while Valérie Grenier was sadly disqualified for the second straight Olympics.
🏒 Two-time gold medalist Sidney Crosby will captain Canada’s men’s hockey team, with an impassioned Connor McDavid and Cale Makar serving as alternate captains. Elsewhere, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews will don the C for the enemy Team USA.
⛸️ The up-and-coming Canadian figure skating contingent finished fifth in yesterday’s team event, a strong result especially with their top pairs team sidelined. Considered an outside shot to make the podium, multiple red-and-white skaters set personal bests in the top-five finish.
- The Americans defended their gold in the event, narrowly edging out Japan for the top spot thanks to a tremendous (but not perfect) free skate from the Quad God, Ilia Malinin.
🏂 The women’s 12-snowboarder big air final is locked in after yesterday’s qualification round — but it won’t feature any Canucks: Québec City’s Laurie Blouin finished 14th, and Whistler’s Juliette Pelchat finished 16th. So close.
🥌 It was a curling catastrophe for Canada’s mixed doubles duo of Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman after their perfect 3-0 start devolved into five straight losses, eliminating them from playoff contention.
🥇🏂 Austria’s Benjamin Karl successfully defended his parallel giant slalom gold yesterday — and promptly ripped off his shirt to celebrate. Not your average Winter Olympics celly.
TOGETHER WITH Snyder's of Hanover
😴 Today is the Monday of all Mondays after the Big Game — and while it’s probably too late to call in sick, you can still treat yourself to the pick-me-up you deserve: Snyder’s of Hanover® Pretzel Pieces.
- With punchy, bold varieties that push the limits of flavour, like Honey Mustard & Onion, Cheddar Cheese, and Hot Buffalo Wing, a pack of Snyder’s pretzels are just the thing to lift your
eyelidsspirits. Find a bag at a convenient location near you.
⏰ | 👀 | |
| 🏅⛷️ Women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle final | Today at 6:30 a.m. | 🇨🇦 Megan Oldham, Naomi Urness; 🇨🇳 Eileen Gu |
| 🏅⛸️ Women’s speed skating 1,000m final | Today at 11:30 a.m. | 🇨🇦 Béatrice Lamarche, Rose Laliberté-Roy, Carolina Hiller-Donnelly |
| 🏅🏂 Women’s Big Air snowboarding final | Today at 1:30 p.m. | 🇳🇿 Zoi Sadowski-Synnott; 🇯🇵 Kokomo Murase; 🇦🇹 Anna Gasser |
| 🏒 Women’s hockey prelims | Today at 3:10 p.m. | 🇨🇿 Czechia vs. 🇨🇦 Canada |
✏️ Putting the student in student-athlete
Canadian figure skater Madeline Schizas went viral over the weekend after sharing her request for a homework assignment extension. The 22-year-old McMaster University senior mixed up a deadline, writing to her professor “I was competing in the Olympic Games yesterday and thought the reflection was due on Sunday, not Friday.”
- Yes, Schizas got her extension and, after competing in the team event the last few days, will have some time to hit the books while waiting for next week’s women’s singles action. Brains and brawn.
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio and Lisa Minutillo. Fact-checking and ops by Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Alessandra Puccio and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.