Sports News
 | Powered by  Edition #883 September 20 |
From The Gist Team |
Hump day!
Want to start your Wednesday with a smile? Check out this photoshoot Indianapolis Colts tight end Kylen Granson posted after hauling in his first career NFL touchdown on Sunday. Talk about a special delivery.
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Quote of the Day |
 | Trailblazing is bold, it's brave, and it can be very scary and lonely. But it's worth it. |
 | — The legendary Billie Jean King, before announcing the very first pick in the inaugural PWHL Draft on Monday. ICYMI: Team USA star Taylor Heise was selected No. 1 overall and will play for her home state, Minnesota.
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The Latest |
🏀 Ball 'til you fall
The GIST: Three down, one to go. The WNBA semis are nearly set, with three favorites clinching their berths and one decisive Game 3 coming up tonight. Cancel your plans.
Last night's games: It was a spicy slugfest, but the No. 2 NY Liberty came out on top, powering through the No. 7 Washington Mystics (and a career-high performance from Natasha Cloud) in a tight 90–85 overtime Game 2 win. The superteam Libs are now semis-bound for the first time since 2015.
- Then the late showdown was a true team effort, with all five No. 4 Dallas Wings starters hitting double-digit points as the squad throttled the No. 5 Atlanta Dream 101–74 — scoring the Wings their first playoff series win since 2009, when they were still the Detroit Shock.
Tonight's game: Nothing like a winner-take-all Wednesday. Under the W's new playoff format, the No. 6 Minnesota Lynx will host tonight's 8 p.m. ET Game 3 vs. the No. 3 Connecticut Sun. The Lynx needed a combined 54-points from Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride to upset the Sun in Game 2, but will certainly gain a boost from the home crowd.
- As for Connecticut, it's all eyes on MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas and her partner in buckets, DeWanna Bonner, who put up a combined 50 of their own in Game 2. May the best dynamic duo win.
😠 Guess it's never really over
The GIST: Members of the Spanish women's national team begrudgingly arrived at training camp yesterday under threat of fines and possible suspension if their strike against the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) continues. But progress seemed to be made overnight.
- After an extensive, six-hour meeting with the players, RFEF and Spain's National Sports Council, all but two athletes decided to stay at training camp, ending their boycott after being promised "profound changes."
- Notably, Mapi Leon and Patri Guijarro — who also boycotted the FIFA Women's World Cup — left camp, but, as per Spain's secretary for sport, will no longer face sanctions.
The background: Last Friday, 39 players announced that they will not play for the national team until further changes are made at RFEF, a declaration that came after disgraced former president Luis Rubiales' resignation and former head coach Jorge Vilda's firing.
- Come Monday, 20 of those athletes were selected to the national team roster for this month's two UEFA Nations League games, the first of which is this Friday against Sweden.
- Fifteen of those 20 played on Spain's FIFA Women's World Cup–winning squad, but Jenni Hermoso, who Rubiales forcibly kissed during the World Cup trophy presentation, was curiously left off the roster.
- New head coach Montse Tomé said Hermoso's exclusion was "to protect her," to which Hermoso responded, "Protect me from what? And from whom?" Mic drop.
The players' initial response: Spanish sports law mandates that, barring injury, any athlete called to a national team must report for duty. If they don't, they face up to $32K in fines and a possible suspension of up to five years.
- After the roster dropped, players accused the RFEF of violating FIFA regulations surrounding notification of selection, but had no choice but to report for training.
- In a plot twist, as mentioned, training started with an extensive meeting, that left the players feeling comfortable to compete in at least this week's match. Time will tell if RFEF and the country's sports council can keep their word.
🤝 Dream team
They say the best partnerships are 50/50 — and that's why we love teaming up with Ally. The brand that's serious about changing the gals' game has committed to equal media spend on women's and men's sports to help close the equity gap. Spoiler alert: It's going pretty freaking well so far.
Not only is Ally sponsoring the NWSL, the NWSLPA, and the NCAA's Atlantic Coast Conference, but they've teamed up with us to help keep this newsletter free — just another way Ally's looking out for you.
BUZZER BEATERS |
Content warning: This section contains mention of sexual harassment.
🏈 Cleveland Browns star running back Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending knee injury during Monday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Awful.
⚾ LA Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani underwent a successful elbow procedure yesterday and will reportedly be ready to hit again in 2024 and pitch in 2025.
⚽ The NWSL officially awarded Boston an expansion team yesterday, with the franchise's kickoff set for the 2026 season. Wicked awesome.
🤸 GOAT Simone Biles locked in her spot on the U.S. women's gymnastics team last night as the squad begins gearing up for next week's world championships in Belgium. Flippin' fantastic.
🏅 St. Louis Cardinals pitcher (and musician) Adam Wainwright notched his 200th career win on Monday, making him just the 122nd pitcher in MLB's 120-year history to reach the milestone.
❌ Michigan State University plans to fire head football coach Mel Tucker amid an ongoing investigation into sexual harassment allegations against him.
📺 Saturday's Colorado vs. Colorado State football game averaged 9.3M viewers, ESPN's highest-ever rating for a late-night college football broadcast. Prime time is for real.
🇺🇲 USWNT legend Julie Ertz will play her final match for the red, white, and blue during tomorrow's 7:30 p.m. ET friendly against South Africa, airing on TNT, Universo, and Peacock. Prep those tissues.
Spain's hottest clubs aren't in Ibiza — they're swinging on the country's top course, where the 2023 Solheim Cup is about to get underway.
And as if we weren't already hyped for the big event, tomorrow Team USA member and world No. 11 Nelly Korda joins The GIST of It podcast to talk all things Solheim.
- Team USA has just as much star power as its roster announcement video (hi, Alex Morgan), and Korda will take GISTers behind the scenes with this sparkling squad. Volume, all the way up.
The GIST's Picks |
Hi. It's us. We're the recommenders, it's us.
🎧 What to listen to
The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny. Mina and her furry co-host, Lenny, tackle football topics with wit and wisdom.
🏀 What to read
This article on basketball in Canada and Germany. The global game is clearly evolving, and the U.S. can't just "show up" anymore. Paris 2024 can't come soon enough.
🎤 What to get excited for
The Eras Tour Concert Film. Taylor Swift's epic show hits theaters next month. Start prepping your outfit.
Fun & Games |
Take Your Pick | ||
 | At |  |
Connecticut Sun | Minnesota Lynx | |
| -120 | To Win | -102 |
| It's win-or-go-home time for the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx. Which squad do you think will punch their ticket to the semis tonight? Cast your vote below. On Monday, we asked you if the Mystics and/or Dream would force a Game 3. Congrats to the 23% who thought neither. | ||
Connecticut SunMinnesota Lynx | ||
Sports Betting Guide | ||
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Today's email was brought to you by Lauren Tuiskula, Alessandra Puccio, Marga Sison, Lisa Minutillo, and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Laura Pastore, Janine Kiefer, Emma Leishman, Rachel Fuenzalida, and Lindsay Jost. Fact-checking by Parul Kanwar. Ops by Briana Ekanem and Marga Sison. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alexis Allison, and Dee Lab. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.
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