Can smell the buffalo chicken dip already
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)

Leveling The Playing Field
Welcome back!
And welcome to the start of a new NFL season. The gridiron fun begins with a Super Bowl rematch between the New England Patriots and the defending champ Seattle Seahawks tonight at 8:20 p.m. ET.
- There’s still plenty of time to join our NFL Weekly Pick’ems (with sweet prizes up for grabs) and to read tomorrow’s special edition before the rest of the Week 1 action continues. Start daydreaming about your gameday spread, then scroll on for even more sports news.
US Open
🎾 A spark in the dark

The GIST: NY’s hottest club is Arthur Ashe Stadium, with the US Open quarter-finals (QF) wrapping up today following yesterday’s blockbuster matches. Here’s what you missed on Glee in Queens.
💪 World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 3 Jess Pegula advance to semis: Two-time defending champ Sabalenka dropped her first set of the tourney to QF opponent Linda Nosková yesterday, but roared back to win a tremendous third-set tiebreak. Elsewhere, Pegula survived a first set scare against fellow American, No. 27 Emma Navarro, eventually winning in three.
🔥 No. 9 Ben Shelton ousts No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz: The top-ranked American pulled off the unthinkable, ousting defending champ Alcaraz in 5 extra-late sets last night, with the match ending at 3:33 a.m. Earlier in the day, No. 12 Frances Tiafoe defeated qualifier Alex Michelsen in an all American, five-set, emotional nailbiter, earning Big Foe his third career US Open semis appearance.
⏩ And there’s still four QF matches to go, highlighted by two must-see women’s showdowns. First up today is former top-five player and current qualifier Qinwen Zheng against No. 2 Elena Rybakina at 11:30 a.m. ET, where the latter has a chance to secure the No. 1 world ranking for the first time.
- Once that match is over, it’s No. 4 Coco “all gas, no brakes” Gauff against No. 5 Mirra Andreeva, who won the French Open in June. Gauff has never lost to Andreeva, but the matches between both young stars have been full of fireworks.
NCAA football
🎓🏈 Big House, big problems

The GIST: NCAA football chose chaos in Week 1: One powerhouse plummeted in the rankings, another program faces conference expulsion, and the postseason could be expanding…again. It’s been a minute since we went back to school, but has it always been this dramatic?
〽️ Michigan falls out of AP Top-25: The Wolverines started the season at No. 16, but the perennial contenders are on the outside looking in after needing a second-chance Hail Mary to beat Western Michigan in a 13–12 slogfest (more on that later).The freefall marks the first time since 2008 a top-25 program dropped out of the rankings after a victory.
- Back to that Saturday stunner, the Mid-American Conference (home to WMU) is officially appealing the result. The game seemingly ended in a 12–7 Broncos upset W, but Big Ten officials added one second to the clock after review, giving Michigan another shot. Hmmm.
👀 SEC files to expel LSU: The pros-returning-to-college saga gained another plot twist after the conference requested permission via an amendment to an already-filed lawsuit to boot the Tigers. LSU head coach Lane Kiffin had been open about his desire to ink former pros but reportedly filled his last two roster spots last night, ending speculation that two ex-NFLers would don the Tigers’ purple and gold this year.
- It’s TBD how that decision will impact tomorrow’s meeting as conference leaders decide the program’s fate. And it’s not just football’s SEC status at stake: It’d be an all-encompassing decision, removing all LSU sports from the juggernaut conference if approved.

🏈 Tired of being left out of the football convo? Not here at The GIST. That’s right, we’re back this season with our free-to-play NFL Weekly Pick’ems. We’re talking quick, fun, and easy picks with weekly and season-long prizes on the line.
- All you have to do is click this link and pick the winner of every Week 1 matchup. It really is that simple.
🏆⚾ Inaugural Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) playoffs begin with best-of-three semis
The quest for the first-ever WPBL title begins tonight at 7 p.m. ET with the No. 1 seed San Francisco Firebells facing the No. 4 Boston Hunters. Led by superstar Kelsie Whitmore, the Firebells went a perfect 5-0 against the Hunters this season, including a 13–7 win on Sunday. Boston will be, well, hunting for an upset, but this SF squad is as stacked as they come.
- The other semi should be more evenly matched, featuring the No. 2 LA Queens vs. the No. 3 NY Heights — a battle of squads with identical records. Expect a slugfest between NY’s Denae Benites and LA’s Ashton Lansdell when this one begins tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET.
🏀 FIBA Women’s World Cup knockout rounds underway
Hungary and Germany beat Japan and Korea, respectively, to punch their QF tickets yesterday. The other two knockout round squads will be decided today as China takes on Puerto Rico at 11:45 a.m. ET for the honor of playing the juggernaut French, while Italy and Australia meet three hours later to decide who will play Spain.
- And there’s no rest for these hoopers: QF tilts tip off tomorrow, starting with the five-time reigning champ Americans vs. Hungary at 5:30 a.m. ET, followed by host Germany battling Belgium at 11:45 a.m. ET. So much basketball, so little time.
⚾ Toronto Blue Jays gaining ground in Wild Card chase
Thanks to José Soriano’s pitching, Toronto beat the Athletics 4–2 on the road last night, leaving them one game back of the Cleveland Guardians for the final Wild Card spot with just over two weeks to go in the regular season. The series wraps today at 3:05 p.m. ET, and we think the hunt for October is a perfectly reasonable excuse to cut out of work early to tune in.
- Elsewhere in the American League East, NY Yankees slugger Aaron Judge returned to the lineup for the first time since May 31st last night, further bolstering the Bronx Bombers’ playoff hopes.
⚽🏆 Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé lead Ballon d’Or shortlist
The nominees for the most prestigious award in international football were announced yesterday, with Messi (Argentina), Mbappé (France), Harry Kane (England), and fan favorite Erling Haaland (Norway) all in contention after strong FIFA men’s World Cup campaigns.
- As for the women, four NWSL players were nominated for the Ballon d’Or Feminin: Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride), Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC), and Lorena (Kansas City Current).
- The men’s and women’s winner will be announced on October 26th — mark that cal.
🏈 It’s the most wonderful time of the year, football fans. With things kicking off today, gamedays are back to being your fave part of the week.
Football is back, and so is POOLS. PROLINE will guarantee $500K POOLS prizes in each of the season’s first three weeks — it's never been easier to make your picks for a chance at a piece of that pie. Place your bets in-store or in-app and get back in the game with PROLINE.
What game day tradition are you looking forward to most?
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, 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.


