Mirror, mirror on the wall
Leveling The Playing Field
Missed ya!
The crossover we never knew we needed went down last night as Dancing with the Stars brought the groove on Super Bowl night. Don’t mind us shimmying right into today’s sports news.
MLB Playoffs
⚾ The show goes on
The GIST: While a certain Toronto Blue Jay sets his new and improved eyes on next year’s prize, this year’s MLB playoff push is just heating up with two Championship Series Game 3s on deck. From defending champs on the brink to a back-and-forth showdown, let’s dive in.
🍻💙 Milwaukee Brewers (up 2-0) have two-time reigning champ LA Dodgers on the ropes: Down but never out, the Brew Crew pulled off two comebacks to remain undefeated at home in the postseason and put themselves two wins away from their first World Series appearance since 1982. As for LA, the seemingly inevitable Dodgers are looking shockingly vulnerable.
- And those concerns include superstar Shohei Ohtani, who the Dodgers reportedly considered benching for tonight’s 8 p.m. ET Game 3 amid his playoff struggles and lingering injury woes.
- Manager Dave Roberts confirmed yesterday that Ohtani will remain in the lineup as the four-time MVP remained “adamant” he can help his squad overcome this two-game hole. Only time will tell as LA’s three-peat hopes hang in the balance.
🌴🛡️ Tampa Bay Rays even series with Cleveland Guardians: Rays pitcher Freddy Peralta (six strikeouts) and Canada’s own Liam Hicks (two RBI) had the Trop rocking in last night’s 3–1 Game 2 win. Considering how gritty both teams are, it’s anyone’s guess what will happen as this scrappy series shifts to Cleveland tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET.
☎️ You’ve been called up
📊 A study from Women Leaders in Sports found that 36% of women working in sports feel pressure to conform to the male-dominated culture. But what if advancing in sports didn’t have to mean trying to join the boys’ club?
🌟 Introducing The Call Up — a new platform from The GIST designed to help women break into sports, grow their careers, and navigate an industry where the path forward isn’t always clear. Hear directly from women working across the sports industry and learn how they got their start, navigated challenges, and found success while staying true to themselves.
Ready to make your next play?
🏀 Atlanta Dream to host WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena
The team’s venue saga reached a satisfying conclusion yesterday as the Dream confirmed they’ll host Games 3 and 4 at the 17K-seat arena, the same court where they logged all three of their home wins this postseason. Atlanta was previously set to host the Golden State Valkyries at Gateway Center Arena, which accommodates just 3.5K fans.
- And it’s not just about an arena worthy of that championship moment. Under the league’s new revenue-splitting model, everyone benefits from the exponential increase in ticket sales. More is always more.
🇨🇦⚽ CanWNT shows moments of brilliance in friendlies against No. 10 Denmark
Forward Olivia Smith came off the bench and provided a late equalizer in Friday’s 1–1 draw before Les Rouges outdueled the Danes in an unofficial shootout. Smith earned her spot in the starting lineup for Monday’s rematch and tallied another goal, but it wasn’t enough to overcome defensive mistakes that led to three goals in nine minutes in the 4–3 loss.
- That said, friendlies are an opportunity to experiment with lineups, so the results aren’t entirely worrying.
- CanWNT should feel solid heading into next month’s qualifying, but they certainly have some issues to address if they want to compete at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the LA 2028 Summer Olympics.
🎓🏐 No. 1 Nebraska stays perfect after upset-filled weekend of women’s college volleyball
The Cornhuskers look virtually unstoppable, dropping just three sets total en route to a spotless 17-0 record. Senior outside hitter Harper Murray remains that girl, headlining a powerhouse Huskers lineup that’s riding a seven-game sweep streak into tomorrow’s 8 p.m. ET tilt against unranked Northwestern. Best of luck to those Wildcats.
Together With Rugby Canada
🇨🇦 There’s a different kind of heated rivalry coming to a pitch near you. Relive the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 as Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team takes on England for two rematches on Canadian soil.
- 🏉 Presented by Canadian Tire, the Rugby Rematch Tour is making stops in Toronto and Ottawa — and they’re already making Canadian sports history.
- 🎟️ That’s right, advance ticket sales have already broken the North American women’s rugby attendance record. Now’s your chance to be part of that history.
The GIST’s Week 5 NFL power rankings
🚨 Did you know we have a special NFL newsletter? The GIST’s Weekly Blitz breaks down the top gridiron stories every single week. Here’s a sneak peek of tomorrow’s edition — opt in to receive your new favorite football read.
1. San Francisco 49ers (5-0) ❤️
The Niners are a lesson in resilience (they’re the league’s most injured team), exceeding expectations (Mr. Irrelevant is an MVP candidate), and millennial magic (their top-two receivers are 33). And that was all before they knocked off the reigning champs on the road.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (4-0) 💛
KC might be the most complete team in the NFL. Full stop. They didn’t hit the gridiron in Week 5, and head coach Andy Reid is 22-5 coming off a bye week. Do with that information what you will when you make those weekly picks. *winks*
3. Seattle Seahawks (3-2) 💚
The Seahawks defense is their bread and butter, meaning quarterback Sam Darnold doesn’t need to be a hero. He just needs to not throw an interception on the first play of tomorrow’s 8:15 p.m. ET Thursday Night Football showdown vs. the Denver Broncos.
💌 Like what you read? Subscribe for your weekly dose of gridiron analysis. No flags on this play.
Learn the Lore
😱 Manchester City found guilty on 114 charges of financial misconduct
English club Manchester City returned to Premier League play on Sunday, their first match since an independent commission found them guilty of financial misconduct. This story dates all the way back to early 2017, when a successful phishing attempt allowed a Portuguese hacktivist to access internal City communications.
- Uncovered emails detailed how the club bypassed financial fair play rules, including sham payments, fraudulent bookkeeping reports, and illegal funding injections from their Abu Dhabi–based owners that accelerated City’s transformation from a mid-table dweller to a powerhouse.
Now fútbol fans want retribution, although no one is entirely sure what that looks like. While the fallout continues, City faces reigning Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain today at 3 p.m. ET. Watch this space.
Today’s email was brought to you by Lisa Minutillo, Rachel Fuenzalida, Lauren Tuiskula, Grace DePaull, and Charlotte Mackenzie. 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.