Slipped away into a moment in time
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
Happy end of August!
The month is slipping away into a moment in time, but the US Open is just picking up: The singles first round began yesterday and continues today and tomorrow. Living for the hope of it all as we start this week off with today’s sports news.
WNBA
🏀 The best form of flattery
The GIST: The FIBA World Cup tips off on Friday, ushering in a three-week WNBA break before the regular season resumes on September 17th. While we patiently wait for more hoops, we’re honing in on the debut seasons of the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo.
- The Golden State Valkyries found expansion success in 2025, making the postseason in their inaugural campaign and creating a stellar blueprint for the new teams to come. Did the Fire and Tempo pull from the Valks’ expansion playbook? In short, yes.
- Acquiring superstars isn’t easy under the W’s current expansion draft process, so something has to make up for that lack of starpower. And while both 2026 expansion teams will miss the playoffs, their league debuts were packed with promise.
🔥 Portland Fire: What Portland lacks in top-tier talent, it makes up for with a unique style of play. Head coach (HC) Alex Sarama’s been lauded for his Constraints-Led Approach (CLA). The details differ, but the creativity mirrors Golden State HC Natalie Nakase’s defense-first, high-intensity model. No one’s playing quite like the Valkyries, just like no one’s playing like the Fire.
- So what is CLA? It’s a coaching philosophy that prioritizes player-led decision-making under pressure. “Constraints” are used in practice (like a 3-on-3 drill with no dribbling) forcing players to problem solve on the fly, improving in-game adaptability. And it’s working: The Fire have outperformed expectations.
👟 Toronto Tempo: Injuries notably decimated the Tempo this season, leaving them with an 11-29 record that isn’t reflective of their potential. That said, it feels like Toronto’s on track to mimic the Valks heading into year two. Much like Golden State’s commitment to Veronica Burton, the Tempo seem to have found their long-term point guard in rookie Kiki Rice. Step one, complete.
- Enter: the 2026 offseason, which could be crucial for the Six. Toronto will be shooting to pick up a superstar in the draft (hi, USC’s JuJu Watkins) or in free agency like the Valkyries did — and they have the cap space to do both. Slide on those shades.
⛳ World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler wins FedEx Cup
Scheffler is the PGA Tour’s $10M man for the second time in three years, pocketing that check (along with postseason bragging rights) by finishing 16-under-par yesterday and even nearly nailing a hole in one. Scheffler is just the third golfer to win multiple FedEx Cups, joining Rory McIlroy (who finished tied for fourth yesterday) and Tiger Woods. Making Bennett and Remy proud.
🥎 Pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl wins AUSL All-Star Cup
The 2025 No. 1 overall pick just added another accolade to her already stacked resume. Kilfoyl posted 1072 points across the three-week individual competition, hanging on for the crown despite her squad losing 5–0 last night to second-place finisher Baylee Klingler’s lineup. Kilfoyl’s victory also puts a bow on the 2026 AUSL slate, a year of massive growth for the league. Nothing soft about it.
⚾ Curaçao beats Nevada for first Little League World Series (LLWS) title since 2004
The kids from Curaçao went undefeated in Williamsport, beating Nevada 11–2 in yesterday’s championship to win the country’s second-ever LLWS. Their win marks just the first time since 2015 that an international squad claimed the overall crown in back-to-back years. And while the tourney has come to a close, the history made at this year’s event won’t soon be forgotten.
🎾 World No. 5 Novak Djokovic was stunned by No. 49 Mariano Navone in the first round of the US Open last night, the first time he’s lost in the opening round of a Slam since 2006. The 24-time Grand Slam champ noticeably struggled with the heat.
🏈 Three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl champ Aaron Donald unretired yesterday, signing with his longtime team, the LA Rams, on a one-year, $20M deal. Guess it’s never really over.
⚾ What a weekend for the Toronto Blue Jays. The beloved Buck Martinez was inducted into the Blue Jays Hall of Excellence, the boys swept the Seattle Mariners, and Toronto’s just 1.5 games back in the Wild Card standings. Talk about flying high.
🎓🏈 UNC posted the best win of college football Week 0, taking down tumultuous TCU 15–10 in Dublin. Now that’s Bill Belichick football.
🏒 Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar is now the highest-paid player in NHL history after inking an eight-year, $163.2M extension on Saturday. A small price to pay for one of the league’s top-scoring defenseman.
🏎️ In other pen-to-paper news, 2025 World Drivers’ Champion Lando Norris will officially stick with McLaren through 2030.
⚽😱 There’s been a shakeup atop the NSL standings. Ottawa Rapid lost their second straight game yesterday, a 2–1 L to AFC Toronto, costing them their league-leading status. The Montréal Roses took over the top spot after defeating lowly Halifax 1–0 on Saturday.
⚽👟 North Carolina Courage midfielder Ashley Sanchez still leads the NWSL Golden Boot race, recording an assist, but no goals in a 3–2 Saturday loss to the Kansas City Current.
⚽🔥 Over in MLS action, Inter Miami CF captain Lionel Messi scored four goals (!!!) in his squad’s 7–1 Saturday drubbing of CF Montréal. The GOAT (now sporting a fun new beard) leads the league with 18 goals this season.
🏐 Canada will compete in women’s Olympic volleyball for the first time since 1996, qualifying for the 2028 LA Games by winning the NORCECA Continental Qualifier over the weekend.
🏀 The LA Sparks waived Kate Martin on Saturday, but with sad news comes good news: The fan favorite officially re-signed with Unrivaled for another season.
The first of the “-ber” months brings a truly thrilling sports lineup. Which event are you most looking forward to in September?
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, and Lauren Tuiskula. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam. Ops by Elisha Gunaratnam and Briana Ekanem. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.