One Crunchwrap Supreme, please
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy Monday!
It’s certainly a joyous one for the Bucknell student who just became $10K richer after former MLB star and Minnesota Lynx and Timberwolves majority owner Alex Rodriguez hit a half-court shot yesterday, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
- Consider that a sign to shoot your shot as we start the new week with, what else, more sports news.
— Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, who was notoriously drafted to the Denver Nuggets during a Taco Bell commercial in 2014, selected with the 41st pick of the night. Fair to say the Joker has proved himself since — somebody get this guy a Crunchwrap Supreme.
NHL
🏒 The countdown is on
The GIST: If you thought last week’s 4 Nations Face-Off was fun, then feast your eyes on Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, who’s now just 13 goals away from breaking the NHL’s all-time career goals record, a mark long held by Wayne “The Great One” Gretzky. History is happening.
The context: Ovechkin is playing in his 20th NHL season and has spent his entire career in D.C., scoring at least 20 goals every single season. After recording a hat trick in yesterday’s 7–3 win over the Edmonton Oilers, he’s lit the lamp a whopping 882 times.
- Gretzky retired in 1999 with 894 goals, a record that’s stood for over 25 years and was considered unbreakable…until Ovi started making headway, that is.
- The Great Eight averages 49 goals per season — the same as Gretzky — though he infamously scores more empty-netters than the legend.
What’s next: Despite breaking his leg and missing 16 games earlier this season, Ovi is on track to smash Gretzky’s record before the playoffs begin in April, and his squad is looking like a lock for the postseason, currently sitting atop the league.
- The Caps have 25 regular-season games to go, and with Ovechkin racing to 895, every single one is appointment viewing, beginning with tomorrow’s 7 p.m. ET contest vs. the Calgary Flames. The definition of can’t-miss.
🎓 No. 13 NC State women stun No. 1 Notre Dame 104–95 in double-overtime thriller
Yesterday’s back-and-forth affair featured 21 (!!!) lead changes, but ended with the Wolfpack officially snapping ND’s 19-game win streak. All five NC State starters hit double-digit points, including a career-high 33-point masterpiece from sophomore Zoe Brooks, the perfect complement to superstar senior Aziaha James’ highlight reel–worthy heroics.
- And the men’s hardwood was just as dramatic this weekend with seven unranked squads upsetting top-25 opponents, none more lopsided than Villanova’s 81–66 Friday squashing of No. 15 Marquette. Why is February so short? To make room for March.
🔮 Washington Mystics trade Ariel Atkins to Chicago Sky for No. 3 pick in April’s Draft
The Mystics have officially entered their rebuild era after dealing two-time All-Star Atkins — the final player remaining from their 2019 championship squad — to the Sky yesterday. The Sky pick up an elite defender who will fit perfectly into their rotation, while the Mystics now own three first-round picks (No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6) in this year’s draft.
❤️🩹 San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich not expected to return this season
One of the NBA’s most beloved bench bosses, Popovich hasn’t coached since suffering a mild stroke in November — and a recent report indicates the Spurs won’t see the winningest coach in league history on the sidelines again this season as he continues to rehab.
- The 76-year-old’s future at the helm of the Spurs, a team he’s led for nearly three decades, remains uncertain.
- This is the second major blow for San Antonio after they lost French phenom Victor Wembanyama for the remainder of the season as he was diagnosed with blood clots in his shoulder last week.
💅 Rose BC’s Angel Reese posts first-ever 20-point, 20-rebound performance in Unrivaled history
Reese tallied 22 points and 21 rebounds in her squad’s 72–63 Friday win over Lunar Owls BC, and the historic moment smelled even sweeter as the Rose handed the top-ranked Owls their first loss of the season.
- Excluding tonight, there are only two weekends of regular-season action left, so expect plenty of jostling as the league’s other five teams vie for playoff berths with the Owls having already clinched one of four available spots. Spicy.
Together With RBC
🇨🇦 Want to be an Olympian?
Forget waiting for your Mia Thermopolis moment, go out there and grab it: RBC Training Ground finds and funds young athletes with Olympic potential, giving them the chance to unlock their podium dreams.
- At free qualifying events across the country, National Sport Organization scouts test athletes in strength, speed, power, and endurance and match them with Olympic sports they’ll thrive in. Plus, there’s an hour at every event dedicated exclusively to women athletes. Slay.
Notable RBC Training Ground alumni include:
⛷️ Freestyler skier Marion Thénault, a bronze medallist in Beijing 2022
🚣 Rower Avalon Wasteneys, the program’s first-ever two-time Olympic medallist
🏃♂️ Canadian track star Pierce LePage, the inaugural winner of the RBC Training Ground in 2016
Think you have the potential to compete on Team Canada? Sign up for a free qualifying event and start your Olympic journey today.
Take Your Pick
Dallas Mavericks
LA Lakers
Earlier this month, the sports world was shocked by a trade sending 25-year-old Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić to the LA Lakers in exchange for 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis. Now it’s finally time for these squads to meet for the first time post-trade in tomorrow’s 10 p.m. ET tilt from La La Land.
- Ahead of tip-off, let us know who you think will win this highly anticipated game. Lights, camera, action.
🏒 It took three periods, one five-minute overtime, and a shootout for the Boston Fleet to secure a dub over the NY Sirens in yesterday’s PWHL Takeover Tour tilt in Buffalo. Women’s hockey is the greatest show on earth.
🇨🇦⚽ The No. 6 CanWNT earned their first win of the head coach Casey Stoney era, topping No. 31 Mexico 2–0 on Saturday, part of Pinatar Cup play from Spain. The international friendly tourney ends tomorrow, with the Red and White taking on No. 42 Chinese Taipei at 1 p.m. ET.
🥌 Move aside, Queen of Hearts — Rachel Homan’s the real royal after the skip secured her fifth Scotties Tournament of Hearts title with yesterday’s 6–1 win over Manitoba’s Team Einarson. It’s the second straight year Team Homan’s gone undefeated at the tournament.
🎿 Already the most decorated skier of all time, American phenom Mikaela Shiffrin earned a historic 100th World Cup race win yesterday, just two and a half months after a serious injury.
⚾ Put that razor down because the NY Yankees finally reversed their antiquated, nearly 50-year facial hair policy on Friday, permitting players to don “well-groomed beards.”
🏐 Team Shondell swept the Pro Volleyball Federation’s (PVF) inaugural, sellout All-Star Match on Saturday, taking down Team Collier in straight sets thanks, in part, to an enormous performance from outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller. A history-worthy showing.
🏎️ Williams’ Carlos Sainz is the newest director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) — aka the Formula 1 drivers’ union — replacing retired four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel.
✈️ The Winnipeg Jets notched their franchise record ninth consecutive win on Saturday, beating the St. Louis Blues 4–3 in a shootout. Soarin’, flyin’.
Celebrate Black History Month with these recs:
🤳 Who to follow
Ja’Dayia Kursh. Arkansas’ first Black rodeo queen advocates for diversity in the sport and encourages young Black girls to participate in an industry that’s been slow to change.
➰ Where to shop
CurlyKids Hair Care’s kid-friendly haircare for curls, coils, and frizz — because little ones deserve great hair days, too.
⚾ What to read
This article diving into the history of Ontario’s all-Black organized baseball league.
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Marga Sison, Megan Murray, and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Laura Pastore. Fact-checking by Marga Sison and Rachel Fuenzalida. Ops by Briana Ekanem and Marga Sison. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.