Florals? For spring?
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
Welcome to May!
Miranda Priestly would approve of the sports world, where the action is coming fast and furious with playoff season in full swing. No time to waste…
— Toronto Tempo forward Laura Juškaitė after Wednesday’s Tempo preseason home opener in front of a sellout crowd. Counting down the days until May 8th.
🏀 NY Knicks pummel Atlanta Hawks to advance to second round
Hug a Hawks fan today because Atlanta didn’t just lose last night: They were annihilated, falling 140–89 to the Knicks in a season-ending Game 6 loss. The 51-point gap marks the ’Bockers’ biggest postseason win and the sixth largest margin in NBA playoff history. The Knicks surpassed 100 points less than four minutes into the third quarter, capitalizing on 19 Atlanta turnovers. Yikes.
- Elsewhere, a near triple-double from three-time league MVP Nikola Jokić wasn’t enough to keep the shorthanded Denver Nuggets afloat after last night’s 110–98 season-ending loss to a Minnesota Timberwolves team without Anthony Edwards. Time to be a horse girl.
- Around the NBA: The Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, and Philadelphia 76ers extended their seasons with pivotal Game 6 wins, while the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors 125–120 to take a 3-2 series lead.
🏒 Two-time reigning Western Conference champs Edmonton Oilers ousted in first round
Third time wasn’t the charm for The Oil, who were eliminated in six games by the Anaheim Ducks with last night’s 5–2 loss. It was an uncharacteristically quiet stretch for Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, who lit the lamp just once during the series.
- The Philadelphia Flyers advanced with Wednesday’s 1–0 win, but three Pittsburgh Penguins — 38-year-old Sidney Crosby, 39-year-old Evgeni Malkin, and 39-year-old Kris Letang — are dominating headlines. The trio’s played together for two decades, but their on-ice future remains uncertain.
- Around the NHL: The Montreal Canadiens and Vegas Golden Knights are up 3-2 on the Tampa Bay Lightning and Utah Mammoth, respectively, while the Minnesota Wild won their first playoff series in 11 years, eliminating the Dallas Stars in the process.
🏒 Boston Fleet open up PWHL playoffs with comeback win over Ottawa Charge
Elite goaltending was the name of the game in last night’s 2–1 Fleet victory over the Charge with both Boston netminder Aerin Frankel (17 saves) and Ottawa tendy Gwyneth Philips (26 saves) shutting the door for most of the feisty series opener. Widely considered to be two of the top three goalies in the world, this five-game set will almost certainly be an ode to this classic showtune.
- There’s no rest for Cup contenders. The Fleet and Charge return to the ice for Game 2 tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET — but not before the puck drops on Game 1 between the top-seeded Montréal Victoire and two-time defending champ Minnesota Frost at 2 p.m. ET.
Women’s Elite Rugby
🏉 A hooker, a prop, and a lock walk into a bar
The GIST: A sports league where you can watch every game for free? Yes, please. Women’s Elite Rugby (WER), the 15-a-side rugby union league captivating sports fans, begins its second season tomorrow at 5 p.m. ET. Let’s ruck and roll.
📌 The context: Women’s rugby isn’t new to North America — but professional women’s rugby still is. The league’s goal remains the same ahead of their sophomore season: keep local talent at home. They’re working to emulate leagues like Unrivaled by creating domestic opportunities for women athletes to be paid, a worthwhile investment amidst the women’s rugby boom.
⚙️ The set-up: The league’s six teams — the Boston Banshees, NY Exiles, Chicago Tempest, Twin Cities Gemini, Denver Onyx, and Bay Breakers — kick off their seasons this weekend and play through July 26th. The regular-season slate features 30 games total, with each team playing the other squads once at home and once on the road.
- Teams earn four points for every win, but they can also snag bonus points for losing by less than seven points or scoring more than four tries in a single game, setting the stage for high-scoring tilts and never-say-die finishes. Consider us hooked.
⭐ The team to beat: The defending champ Denver Onyx, of course. Denver dominated last year, leading by an average of 18 points…at halftime. Though the squad lost some of its firepower in the offseason, the Onyx still pack a punch highlighted by fullback KB Slaughter, who scored a team-best eight tries last season. Will anyone be able to dethrone Denver in year two? Can’t wait to find out.
⚾ MLB: Toronto Blue Jays vs. Minnesota Twins — Tonight at 8:10 p.m. ET — SN1
- Don’t look now, but the Blue Jays are soaring, closing out April on a three-series win streak. Add in designated hitter George Springer’s return after missing 15 games with a broken toe and pitcher Trey Yesavage making his season debut earlier this week and everything’s coming up Jays.
⚽ UEFA Women’s Champions League Semifinals: Arsenal vs. OL Lyonnes — Tomorrow at 9 a.m. ET — OneSoccer
- CanWNT winger Olivia Smith scored the game-winner for Arsenal in their 2–1 first-leg dub over OL Lyonnes, but her countrywoman Ashley Lawrence will do her best to flip that script when the second leg kicks off tomorrow.
- Then come Sunday, defender Vanessa Gilles and Bayern Munich will try to tame Barcelona in the second semi. Finals, loading.
🐴 152nd Kentucky Derby — Tomorrow at 6:57 p.m. ET — Citytv
- The Kentucky Derby has been taken over by nepo babies, or should we say foals, with 19 of the 20 participants descending from legendary racehorse Secretariat. Raising a mint julep to that very fertile great-great-great-great grandpa.
⚽ NSL: Montréal Roses FC vs. Vancouver Rise FC — Tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET — TSN
- The Roses looked sharp to start the season last weekend with two goals from forward Elyse Bennett and will try to keep blossoming as they host the defending champion Rise.
🏎️ Formula 1: Miami Grand Prix — Sunday at 4 p.m. ET — TSN
- One five-week break later, and F1 is back, baby. Third-place McLaren pulled off a 1-2 finish in Miami last year, but one of the two Mercedes drivers has won all three races so far this season. The Silver Arrows show no signs of slowing down…even with updated regulations.
🏒 This is definitely cause for a celly — we’re giving away a trip for two to the PWHL Finals. Enter now, and you could be the lucky winner.
What’s on the line:
- 🎟 Two tickets to a PWHL Finals game
- 💰$1K in cash for travel accommodations
The road to the Walter Cup starts now. Enter for your chance to experience history being made…on us.
Question of the Day
Guess what? It’s gonna be May. As the new month begins, we want to know: Which sporting event are you most looking forward to watching?
📸 Why Athletes Are Suddenly Moonlighting as Sports Photographers (Front Office Sports)
🏎️ Born Crazy (The Players’ Tribune)
🏒 Penguins, Sidney Crosby stuck between eras as the thrill of the past meets a hard future (The Athletic)
🎧 Starring In Jason’s Western, Suite Life Reunion & Mac’s Re-Proposal w/ Brenda Song (Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce)
Today’s email was brought to you by Lisa Minutillo, Rachel Fuenzalida, Lauren Tuiskula, Grace DePaull, 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 Lisa Minutillo. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.