Cue the comeback
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
Today's the day!
Hoops fans, rejoice — the WNBA’s 30th season officially tips off today, and some fans are already riding the emotional roller coaster (hugs to the Kate Martin stans). You already know a Special Edition with all the juicy deets about this year’s campaign is headed for your inbox later today.
- P.S. Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday, along with our The Group Chat edition on sports and motherhood. If you’d rather not receive that newsletter, click here. It won’t impact your regular GIST subscription.
PWHL
🏒 Skate and slide
The GIST: And just like that, one team is one win away from clinching their spot in the PWHL Finals. Scroll on for all the puck party details.
💪 No. 1 seed Montréal Victoire top No. 3 Minnesota Frost, take 2-1 series lead: Things got physical in St. Paul, but the Victoire held tight to score two second-period goals and top the Frost 2–1, putting them just one dub from their first trip to the Walter Cup Final. Oh, and that win may be mere hours away: Puck drops on Game 4 tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET.
👀 But first, the No. 2 Boston Fleet vs. No. 4 Ottawa Charge series (tied 1-1) resumes: After nearly a week off, the Fleet and Charge return to the ice tonight at 7 p.m. ET for Game 3. Charge goaltender Gwyneth Philips was the difference-maker in Game 2, but now that Boston defender Megan Keller’s first playoff goal is behind her, there’s likely more to come. She’s pretty clutch.
- What’s more, these gals also have a quick turnaround ahead, with Game 4 slated for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. ’Tis the season to do that hockey.
☝️One more thing: On Wednesday, the league confirmed that PWHL Detroit is the first of up to four franchises that will debut in the 2027 season. Detroit will play their home games at Little Caesars Arena, a 19,515 person venue that they’ll share with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings and NBA’s Detroit Pistons. Vroom vroom.
🎓🥎 No. 3 seed UCLA senior Megan Grant hits 36th home run, inches closer to single-season record
Get yourself a girl who can do it all, from the hardwood to the diamond. Grant demolished her 36th homer of the season in last night’s Big Ten Tournament 6–1 quarter-final (QF) win against No. 11 Penn State — that means both she and Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells are each one home run away from tying the single-season record (37).
- But while Grant has a chance at No. 37 in today’s semi vs. No. 7 Wisconsin, Wells isn’t so lucky — her Sooners lost 10–5 in last night’s SEC Tournament QF.
🏀 NBA Draft Lottery takes center stage on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET
The stakes are sky-high heading into this year’s lottery: Not only is this draft class absolutely stacked — headlined by projected No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa (BYU) and Cameron Boozer (Duke) — but it’s also likely the last season the lottery will exist in its current form. Bad teams use the draft to rebuild, but changes to how top picks are awarded are looming, further upping the ante for 2026.
🎓 Women’s and men’s March Madness expands to 76 teams each in 2027
The most chaotic tournament in sports is getting bigger — but is bigger better? Only time will tell after the NCAA announced yesterday that each tourney’s First Four will expand to 12 total games in both the women’s and men’s brackets. Teams who make the new “Opening Round” will vie for a seed in the traditional 64-team bracket.
⚽ Angel City FC takes on San Diego Wave in SoCal rivalry match
ACFC started this season hot, but have now dropped their last three games, while San Diego is on a two-game losing skid of their own. Even worse: Wave head coach Jonas Eidevall is serving a red card suspension in this game. Will this rivalry showdown spark signs of life in the California squads? Tune in tomorrow at 8:45 p.m. ET to find out.
- Back on home turf, the NSL’s AFC Toronto takes on the undefeated Montreal Roses, who have not conceded a goal yet this season. Perhaps Toronto forward Esther Okoronkwo will change that on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET.
Together With BrainStation
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- 📍 Coming up IRL in Toronto on May 14th, join Brainstation’s Marketing Evenings event featuring leaders from Snapchat discussing how they’re bringing sports to life on their platform.
🥹 Victor Wembanyama isn’t afraid to cry. His teammates say that’s refreshing (The Athletic)
🏀 LeBron James Isn’t a Spaceship. He’s a Time Machine. (The Ringer)
🏠 How the Commanders returned to D.C.: The wild, unlikely saga of a years-long journey home (The Athletic)
👀 'Hidden Figures,' a Rubik's Cube and a champagne toast: How the WNBA CBA got done (ESPN)
⚽ FIFA faces the World Cup’s toughest opponent: New Jersey (Politico)
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Grace DePaull, and Charlotte Mackenzie. Fact-checking by Bonnie Lee and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Briana Ekanem. Managing edits by Kate Kehoe Foster and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.