Sports Business | The GIST

New data underscores a record-breaking regular season for the WNBA

Over 1.2M people watched Team USA win its fifth consecutive FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup despite competing with the US Open men’s final and the NFL’s first Sunday of the season. Needless to say, fans are ready for more hoops.

September 17, 2026

Racing Louisville FC’s future in doubt following unprecedented league growth

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There are a lot of questions surrounding the future of Racing Louisville FC in the NWSL. While most clubs are making (or considering) major infrastructure investments and looking to capitalize on the bright future of women’s soccer, Racing Louisville is falling behind despite only being in the league for five years.

September 15, 2026

Disastrous Sydney Sweeney ad sparks empowering social response from women athletes

We said it once and we’ll say it again, that ad sucked. Whether it was intended as rage bait or just the most recent flop in a series of problematic sports adverts, it’s exhausting. Content creators are leading the backlash against said ad, and no one is doing it better, or more empowering, than actual women in sports.

September 15, 2026

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert to retire at end of the year

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ICYMI, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced her retirement on Friday after seven years in the position. Her last day on the job is December 31, 2026, with this epic 16 weeks’ notice launching a highly competitive job search that already has the rumor wheel spinning.

September 10, 2026

Minnesota Lynx seek new streaming partner after Victory+ folds

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Things have gone from bad to worse for Victory+ after its parent company announced the dissolution of the Dallas-based streaming service yesterday. Surprisingly, the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream kept their contracts until the end despite previous partners like the NWSL terminating its agreement earlier this summer.

September 03, 2026

Inaugural season of the Upshot League fills much-needed development gap

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While the NBA, MLB, and NHL have distinct talent developmental systems, the WNBA has…a major gap. To help change this, the Upshot League launched this May in hopes of creating more stateside opportunities for elite players.

September 01, 2026

Refurbished basketball courts breathe new life into community spaces

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With 27 Olympic gold medals between the men’s and women’s teams, USA Basketball knows a thing or two about cultivating talent. So what do they list as the number one value for their youth development program? Fun.

August 29, 2026

Backlash from disturbing golf ad opens door for new brands

Sports Business

Backlash from disturbing golf ad opens door for new brands

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August 27, 2026

By now, everyone and their mother has probably seen the Callaway and Good Good Golf video where co-founder Garrett Clark shoved fellow golfer Alexis Miestowski to the ground and told her to never touch his new driver. After the ad went viral, the backlash was immediate and continues to grow.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #590

Alex Ovechkin’s concerning relationship with Vladimir Putin

September 17, 2026

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Alex Ovechkin’s concerning relationship with Vladimir Putin

Today is Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin’s 41st birthday. It’s also the first day of training camp ahead of his 22nd and perhaps final season in the NHL, which should be cause for celebration as one of the league’s all-time greats. However, on today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz detail Ovi’s relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin, inspired by the hockey player's recent ad endorsing Putin’s party ahead of parliamentary elections.