Choose your own adventure
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
On your mark, get set…
We’re racing right into this new week, just like Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe, who became the first person to break the two-hour barrier in an official marathon with yesterday’s 1:59:30 finish at the London Marathon. Talk about defying gravity.
— Former University at Buffalo linebacker Red Murdock, whose NFL dreams came true when the Denver Broncos selected him with the 257th and final pick of the 2026 NFL Draft on Saturday, making him this year’s “Mr. Irrelevant.” Who’s cutting onions?
NHL and NBA Playoffs
🏆 This is the heartbreak hotel
The GIST: The first rule of the playoffs is to stay in the playoffs, but that’s easier said than done. As the first round rages on in both the NHL and NBA here’s a round-up of the eliminated teams and the squads who could be next.
🏒 On the ice: Two teams eliminated
- ❤️ The Ottawa Senators were the first team sent packing, falling 4–2 to the Eastern Conference–best Carolina Hurricanes in Saturday’s feisty Game 4. A sweeping storm surge.
- 👑 The LA Kings also fell victim to the broom, losing 5–1 to the Presidents’ Trophy–winning Colorado Avalanche yesterday. Curse? What curse?
- ❌ Three more teams could see their seasons end before our next newsletter: the Boston Bruins (down 3-1 to the Buffalo Sabres), Pittsburgh Penguins (down 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers), and the Edmonton Oilers (down 3-1 to the Anaheim Ducks).
🏀 On the court: Five teams on the cusp of elimination
- 🚀 The Houston Rockets (down 3-1) staved off elimination with last night’s 115–96 win over the LA Lakers, forcing a Game 5 on Wednesday. Houston, no problems just yet.
- ☀️ The Phoenix Suns are topping the NBA spring cleaning list, down 3-0 to the defending champ Oklahoma City Thunder ahead of tonight’s 9:30 p.m. ET Game 4.
- 👀 Other squads on the chopping block include the Philadelphia 76ers (down 3-1 to the Boston Celtics), the Denver Nuggets (down 3-1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves), and the Portland Trail Blazers (down 3-1 to the San Antonio Spurs after a historic collapse).
- ☝️ One squad that’s not part of that unenviable group? The Toronto Raptors, who evened their series with the Cleveland Cavaliers at two with yesterday’s defense-driven 93–89 dub. And exhale.
PWHL
🏒 Choose your own adventure
The GIST: The regular season is in the books and the playoff matchups are officially set ahead of postseason puck drop on Thursday. That means it’s time for the league’s innovative rule book to really shine — let’s brush up.
🫨 No. 1 seed Montréal Victoire chooses No. 3 Minnesota Frost as semifinal opponent: Finishing atop the regular-season standings not only secures home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs — the No. 1 seed also earns the right to choose whether they’ll face the third or fourth seed in the best-of-five semis.
- Montréal picked the two-time defending champ Frost, a team they went undefeated against in the regular season, leaving the No. 2 Boston Fleet to face the No. 4 Ottawa Charge.
- Notably, the top seed was bounced by their semis opponent in the previous two PWHL seasons. Maybe the third time will be the charm.
⭐ Vancouver Goldeneyes land No. 1 pick in 2026 PWHL Draft: The expansion team Goldeneyes earned the right to draft generational talent Caroline Harvey after defeating Minnesota 4–3 in overtime during Saturday’s regular-season finale. Here’s why:
- The PWHL rewards effort from already-eliminated playoff teams, granting draft points for late-season wins as part of a system called the Gold Plan. Perhaps some other leagues should take note.
⛳ World No. 1 Nelly Korda cruises to wire-to-wire Chevron Championship victory
Korda was flawless all weekend long, taking an early lead with a 16th hole birdie during Thursday’s opening round and never looking back en route to yesterday’s win. The convincing five-shot victory at the LPGA’s first major of the season lifted Korda back to the No. 1 spot in women’s golf for the first time since August. Truly making a splash.
🎾 Stomach virus wreaks havoc at Madrid Open, world No. 3 Coco Gauff advances despite illness
A stomach bug is tearing through the locker room at the French Open tune-up tourney, causing Gauff to fall ill mid-match while No. 4 Iga Świątek withdrew from the competition entirely. Gauff advanced, tummy trouble and all, and will face No. 13 Linda Nosková in the Round of 16 today at 10 a.m. ET.
- Also still in contention is Canadian and world No. 5 Félix Auger-Aliassime, who takes on Alexander Blockx in the Round of 32 today at 10:10 a.m. ET. Eh-xcellent.
⚾ Boston Red Sox fire longtime manager Alex Cora after disappointing 10-17 season start
Things have gotten bananas in Beantown after the Sox fired eight-year skipper, 2018 World Series champion, and former player Cora along with five members of his staff on Saturday. Boston entered the season with playoff aspirations, but have struggled to hold their own, especially in the loaded American League East.
- The Toronto Blue Jays will host these new-look Sox for three games starting tonight at 7:07 p.m. ET, with Jays postseason hero Trey Yesavage set to make his season debut in tomorrow’s tilt.
⚽ AFC Toronto top defending champ Vancouver Rise to kick off NSL’s sophomore season
Toronto took down Vancouver 3–2 in Friday’s 2025 championship rematch behind forward Esther Okoronkwo’s game-winner in front of a sold-out crowd.That said, Halifax Tides and Montréal Roses sit atop the opening week table after each beating their opponents by two goals. Spicy already.
Question of the Day
With the PWHL playoff picture locked in and our postseason primer in the works ahead of Thursday’s puck drop, which squad is your early pick to hoist the Walter Cup?
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Charlotte Mackenzie, and Caroline Price. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Elisha Gunaratnam and Briana Ekanem. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.