A weekend for the gurls
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
Cheers!
The vibes for the week? We’re channeling Gotham FC and USWNT star Rose Lavelle and her fam, who celebrated the Bats’ NWSL Championship win in style over the weekend. Turn it up — there’s plenty more party (and of course sports news) ahead.
— Vancouver Goldeneyes forward Abby Boreen, calm, cool, and collected after scoring the game-winner in her squad’s 4–3 overtime victory over the Seattle Torrent on Friday and helping Vancouver claim the battle of PWHL expansion squads. Talk about a good first impression.
NWSL
⚽🏆 Came, saw, conquered
The GIST: Saturday brought a fairy tale ending for No. 8 seed Gotham FC, who defeated No. 2 Washington Spirit 1–0 to win the NWSL Championship. Here’s how the Bats clinched their second title in three years, plus a look at what’s to come for the growing league.
🌹 Gotham midfielder Rose Lavelle seals the deal in the 80th minute: Big-time players meet big-time moments, and veteran Lavelle stepped up in a major way in San Jose, banging home the eventual game-winner in an otherwise deadlocked game. Gotham outshot Washington 13 to 7 in the evenly played match, wearing down an injured, but persevering Spirit back line.
👀 Zooming out: Saturday marked Gotham’s second championship won as the lowest seed in the postseason, a testament to the league’s defining parity. The question now is whether that league-wide level playing field will continue to be the NWSL’s biggest strength…or become its greatest limitation.
- Commissioner Jessica Berman remains in the headlines as she continues to back the NWSL’s parity-inducing salary cap, with uncertainty swirling around Spirit star and now free agent Trinity Rodman’s future in the league.
- Something that’s set in stone? The NWSL will expand to 16 franchises with the additions of Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC in 2026. Needless to say, we’ll be watching this space.
NFL
🏈 The present is a gift
The GIST: The NFL is already in the holiday spirit, gifting us a thrilling Week 12 slate — secret handshakes, quarterback (QB) shake and bakes, and sibling rivalries included. Every game matters with the postseason looming…let’s discuss.
💥 AFC juggernauts keep playoff hopes alive: QB Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Indianapolis Colts 23–20 in overtime (OT) yesterday. It’s the first time KC’s won a one-score game this season, a far cry from last year, when they were a perfect 10-0 in games decided by seven points or fewer.
- And that wasn’t the only perennial powerhouse making amends for early-season faults: Running back (RB) Derrick Henry’s Baltimore Ravens beat the NY Jets 23–10 yesterday, their fifth straight win after a 1-5 start.
❌ NY Giants first team eliminated from postseason contention: As if officially missing the playoffs wasn’t enough, yesterday’s 34–27 OT loss to the RB Jahmyr Gibbs–led Detroit Lions was also the NFL-record fifth game this season in which Big Blue held a double-digit lead and still lost. Insult, meet injury.
- Speaking of blown leads in the NFC East, the division-best Philadelphia Eagles saw their 21-point edge over the Dallas Cowboys slip away as the Birds’ archnemesis scored 24 unanswered points in a 24–21 comeback win.
💙 New England Patriots win ninth straight game: Yesterday’s 26–20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals made the Pats the first team to reach 10 wins on the season and put them atop the AFC for the first time since 2018. But with a whopping 10 of 16 AFC teams sitting above .500, the battle for the conference crown is far from over.
🤯 Nine of 16 NFC teams sport winning records: And all that parity means some usual postseason contenders could find themselves on the outside looking in. Looking to crash the party? The Chicago Bears, who have won eight of their last nine — including yesterday’s 31–28 W over the Pittsburgh Steelers — and currently sit atop the competitive NFC North.
🏎️ Red Bull’s Max Verstappen dominated Saturday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, but F1 fans woke up to stunning news yesterday: McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who finished second and fourth, respectively, were disqualified after their cars failed post-race inspections.
- Now with just two Grands Prix left on the calendar, Verstappen is level with Piastri in the World Drivers’ Championship standings and a mere 24 points (aka less than one race win) behind Norris.
☝️ The Dallas Wings secured the No. 1 WNBA draft pick for the second straight season during last night’s draft lottery. And the talent-filled draft class has everyone wondering: Will there be a Pazzi reunion?
⚽ A new MLS attendance record and a MLS Cup semifinal berth? Saturday was quite a day for Vancouver Whitecaps FC, who pulled off a thrilling win in penalties to eliminate LAFC. Joining the Whitecaps in next weekend’s semis are Inter Miami FC, NYCFC, and the winner of tonight’s match between San Diego FC and Minnesota United FC.
⛳ World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul closed out a landmark season with her second straight LPGA Tour victory, winning the season-ending CME Group Tour championship yesterday and claiming the largest prize purse in women’s golf history.
🎓🇨🇦 The Univérsité de Montréal Carabins won their second Vanier Cup in three years on Saturday, beating the Saskatchewan Huskies 30–16. That marks the fourth consecutive season that the RSEQ representative won the national title. Magnifique.
🎓🏀 Canadian Syla Swords nearly helped her No. 6 Michigan squad stun No. 1 UConn on Friday, putting up a team-high 29 points, including three clutch three-pointers, in a 72–69 loss. “Eh” for effort.
🎓🏈 Save No. 9 Notre Dame’s 70–7 (!!!) shellacking of Syracuse, NCAA football Week 13 was mostly unremarkable. That means tomorrow’s College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings should go relatively unchanged, but the stakes remain high with just three regular-season weeks to go.
Together With Proline
📸 Picture this: you, mere inches away from your favorite Toronto Maple Leafs player, sitting in Scotiabank Arena seats so exclusive they aren’t even available to buy. It’s not a daydream — it’s the grand prize in PROLINE’s Most Interesting Seats in the House contest.
- PROLINE puts fan experience first, and now they’re giving one winner a chance to be practically on-ice for a game, in addition to gifting them a jersey and tote bag. Your chance at this once-in-a-lifetime experience is just a click away — enter now.
💅 What to check out
The Glamnetic x Fanatics collab. Glamnetic and Fanatics teamed up to create press-on nails that allow fans to support their favorite NFL, MLB, or college squad in style.
📰 What to read
This piece about Carlie Irsay-Gordon. The profile highlights the Indianapolis Colts owner bringing her passion and expressiveness to her leadership role.
🏒 Who to know
Émilie Castonguay, the first woman to hold the Assistant General Manager role for the Vancouver Canucks.
Question of the Day
Now that we know the Wings will make the No. 1 overall selection in the 2026 WNBA draft, the next question is which player they’ll select. Who do you think will hear their name called first from this stacked class? Choose from the options below, or reply to this email with your top pick.
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Rachel Fuenzalida, Grace DePaull, and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Katie Kehoe Foster. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Briana Ekanem and Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.