Girl, you have done it again
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)

Leveling The Playing Field
Happy first day of fall!
Apple picking, pumpkin carving, leaf peeping — the new season brings countless cozy activities. Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to let us know which one you’re most looking forward to, but first scroll through the latest from our top pick: watching all the sports.


— Blue-haired Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga, who wants head coach Vlatko Andonovski to make good on his hair-dying wager after she scored the second goal in the Current’s 2–0 Saturday win over the Seattle Reign. A deal’s a deal.
- What’s more, the dub made KC the fastest team to clinch the NWSL Shield, awarded to the regular season’s top team.
WNBA MVP
💅 Half woman, half A’mazing

The GIST: Yesterday’s semis Game 1 wasn’t so stellar for the Las Vegas Aces (more on that below), but the day started off strong for the inimitable A’ja Wilson, who won her unprecedented fourth WNBA MVP award. She’s not just raising the bar in the W — this hoops princess is the bar. Here’s why:
🤯 Four for eight: Wilson’s ratio of MVPs to seasons played is truly mind-boggling. She’s been in the W for eight years, earning the league’s highest individual honor four times in that span. Winning MVP in 50% of seasons played is simply incredible — and she’s not done yet.
- Not to mention, Wilson’s fourth award breaks a tie with three-time MVPs and league legends Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Lauren Jackson. She’s also now just the second player to win in back-to-back seasons, joining the iconic Cynthia Cooper.
📈 51 to 18: Touted as one of the tightest MVP races in recent memory, the final tally didn’t quite fit that narrative — Wilson beat out Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier by 33 first-place votes. Collier missed 25% of the season with an ankle injury, almost certainly contributing to the discrepancy, but Wilson was undeniable by season’s end.
- She led the WNBA in points and blocks, averaged a double-double with 10.2 rebounds per game, and logged the league’s first-ever 30-point, 20-rebound game. Oh, and she won Co-Defensive Player of the Year, too. And that’s on dominance.
👏 A’one of one: Already boasting a Hall of Fame–worthy résumé, perhaps the most remarkable element of Wilson’s run is the potential of what’s still to come. At only 29 years old, there’s an argument that she hasn’t even peaked yet. Not bad for a girl who never liked to sweat.
NFL
🏈 Didn’t have that on our Bingo card

The GIST: The NFL chose chaos this weekend with a whopping seven games decided in the final two and a half minutes of action. Let’s recap a Week 3 slate that saw juggernaut offenses sputter, game-winning kicks thwarted, and upsets reign supreme. Hey, not everyone can be the Indianapolis Colts.
🤯 Cleveland Browns stun Green Bay Packers 13–10: Led by their league-best defense, the previously winless Browns sacked Green Bay quarterback (QB) Jordan Love a jaw-dropping five times before kicker (K) Andre Szmyt completed his redemption arc with a 55-yard game-winning field goal (FG).
❌ Philadelphia Eagles block field goal (FG) to secure 19-point comeback: The reigning champs’ 33–26 W over the LA Rams wasn’t pretty, but a win’s a win. Philly scored 26 second-half points, setting the stage for a perfectly-timed blocked FG that defensive tackle Jordan Davis returned for a touchdown (TD).
😵💫 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NY Jets give fans whiplash: The Jets did their best Birds impression, returning a blocked FG for a TD to take a 27–26 lead with minutes left. But then Bucs QB Baker Mayfield did what he does best, engineering a game-winning drive to steal the 29–27 W. It’s not over ’til it’s over, right?
👏 LA Chargers use last-second FG to beat Denver Broncos: This AFC West showdown went down to the wire as LA’s 23–20 win came off the cleat of K Cameron Dicker, who knocked through a 43-yarder as time expired. The dub keeps the Bolts undefeated on the season, their first 3-0 start since 2002. Electric.
- Speaking of pivotal divisional tilts, the San Francisco 49ers won their second straight game under backup QB Mac Jones and now sit alone atop the NFC West after beating the Arizona Cardinals 16–15. No Brock Purdy, no problem.
🏀 Indiana Fever spoil Wilson’s MVP day, defeat Aces in Vegas
The best-of-five WNBA semis got off to an upset-filled start. Led by their own MVP finalist, Kelsey Mitchell (34 points), the Fever topped the Aces 89–73 yesterday, holding the aforementioned Wilson to 16 points. The series continues in Sin City with Game 2 tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. ET.
- On the other side of the bracket, the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx took care of business, beating the Phoenix Mercury 82–69 behind a tremendous game from Courtney Williams, who finished just shy of a triple-double. Game 2 tips tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. ET.
🏉 World No. 2 Canada stun two-time defending champs No. 3 New Zealand, book spot in upcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup final
The Canucks will contend for a world title for just the second time ever after thwarting the perennial powerhouse Black Ferns 34–19 on Friday. Justine Pelletier earned Player of the Match honors after setting the tempo for Canada attacks and finishing with 12 carries. “Be-Leaf, Belief, indeed.
- Time to book a brunch resy: Canada will face No. 1 England in Saturday’s sold-out 11 a.m. ET championship.
⚾ Toronto Blue Jays clinch playoff berth, next goal is divisional crown
Pop that champagne because the Jays are officially postseason-bound for the third time in the last four seasons after beating the Kansas City Royals 8–5 yesterday — the earliest they’ve ever clinched a spot. Next up: swinging for the American League East title, which would be their first divisional title since 2015. The journey continues tomorrow at 7:07 p.m. ET vs. the Boston Red Sox.
🏎️ Red Bull’s Max Verstappen wins Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Verstappen was never in doubt in Baku, leading for all 51 laps. What’s considerably more interesting is how this race shook up the World Drivers’ Championship standings. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri still leads, but after (literally) crashing out in the first lap, his teammate, Lando Norris, trails him by only 25 points, aka one race win.
Together With FanDuel

We’ve never seen Superwoman and Napheesa Collier in the same room: The Minnesota Lynx superstar is part visionary, part powerhouse mom, and fully invested in women’s hoops, from authoring another MVP–calibre season to acting as an architect for the future. Talk about range.
👏 Why we’re a fan: Not only does Collier literally do it all, she does it with a tangible tenacity. She’s gritty, relentless, and hates to lose.
🚨 Opponents lose sleep over Collier, but fans are dreaming big. Flip your fandom into wins with FanDuel, where you can wager on everything from a Lynx title run to how many buckets Collier racks up.
Odds in Her Favour, supported by FanDuel, invites fans to hop on the bandwagon of rising female athletes and shift the spotlight to women’s sports in a meaningful way.Here’s what has GIST HQ buzzing:
♻️ Who’s winning SailGP’s sustainability race
NorthStar (representing Canada), who are reducing their team’s carbon footprint by utilizing clean energy on the water while competing in the Rolex SailGP Championship. Learn more about SailGP’s competitive sustainability efforts in this editorial.
👟 What to relive
All of the thrilling World Athletics Championships action, including the Canadian men scoring silver in the 4x100m and Marco Arop finishing third in the 800m over the weekend. So speedy.
✨ Who’s killing it
Flau’jae Johnson. The 21-year-old LSU basketball star is featured on the September Teen Vogue cover, slaying on and off the court.
Question of the Day
Welcome to autumn! In honor of cozy weather ahead, what’s your fave activity of the season?
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Rachel Fuenzalida, Charlotte Mackenzie, and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Katie Kehoe Foster. Fact-checking by Marga Sison and Mikaela Perez. 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.