 | Together With  |
| From The GIST Team |
We're so back! | ||
| Forget "Grey's Anatomy" — the sports world has brought the drama this week, with stunning on-field and off-field headlines aplenty. Let's get right to it. | ||
| Quote of The Day |
 | We want to kick off on a really…ambitious note with some of the top cities in the country that are some of the biggest fans of baseball. To be able to tap into the four largest consumer MLB markets and give them a women's product is a pretty great opportunity. |
 | — Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL) chair Assia Grazioli-Venier, amid the news that NY, Boston, LA, and San Francisco will be home to the first four teams to compete in the inaugural WPBL season. Is it spring 2026 yet? |
| The Latest |
🏀 The plot twist no one saw coming Source: Associated Press The GIST: Three people with ties to the NBA were among the 34 arrested yesterday in connection to a multiyear FBI investigation into illegal betting. Here's "the gist" on the two indictments (one tied to rigged poker games and the other to illegal sports wagers) and what the FBI director deemed the NBA's "insider trading saga." Buckle up. 😦 I heard a Hall of Famer was involved?: That's right — 2024 inductee and current Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is accused of serving as the "face card" to attract unsuspecting victims to a rigged poker ring, which used high-tech strategies to defraud competitors and reportedly involved multiple Mafia families. Billups is in custody and on leave from the Trail Blazers. 😱 And a current player allegedly facilitated illegal sports bets on himself?: Correct. The Miami Heat's Terry Rozier has been accused of intentionally removing himself from a 2023 game (due to "injury") so that bettors could cash out on more than $259K in wagers — and give Rozier a share of the profits.
👀 Zooming out: Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for legalized sports betting in 2018, numerous scandals have popped up across pro leagues, from MLB to the NFL to the NBA and beyond. Leagues have embraced sports betting through partnerships, but how does a sport maintain integrity when players can be used as prop bets?     |
🏀 Exes and Ohs Source: Hannah Kevorkian/The Next The GIST: Former NY Liberty head coach (HC) Sandy Brondello is heading north, tapped as HC for the expansion squad Toronto Tempo on Wednesday. Grab a whiteboard and a marker: We're breaking down the Xs and Os of the league's coaching moves. 🏆 Brondello brings championship pedigree to Toronto: She's a two-time WNBA champ, a WNBA Coach of the Year, and the HC of the consistently overachieving Australian national team. Her experience and her ability to lure superstars to the Six in the W's most anticipated free agency period could set the Tempo up to replicate the Golden State Valkyries' expansion success. 📋 Two HC vacancies remain open: With the top candidate off the market, the dominoes have already started falling — yesterday, the Dallas Wings inked former University of South Florida women's HC Jose Fernandez, whose impressive résumé and long-term commitment to women's hoops made him a finalist for the same job last year.
☝️ One more thing: CBA negotiations aren't going well — but you already knew that. With the October 31st deadline inching closer, public exchanges between the WNBA and the WNBPA are only getting spicier, from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver saying that a revenue share isn't the best approach to WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson's fiery response. It's getting hot in here. |
| Together With Nike 👏 There's no freak like Giannis Source: Getty Images Too skinny. Too raw. Too one-dimensional. These scouting report slights weren't the first time NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was underestimated: The two-time MVP grew up stateless and in poverty. He didn't play organized basketball until he was a teenager. But now: 🏆 He's an NBA champ and Finals MVP; ⭐ A nine-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA First Team selection; 👟 and a Nike athlete with six signature shoes, including the Giannis Freak 7 From Athens, Greece, playgrounds to the biggest stage in basketball, every challenge has contributed to his rise. Antetokounmpo is a reminder that greatness isn't given; it's earned — one stylish step at a time. |
⚾ From coast to coast Source: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images The GIST: East Coast vs. West Coast, Canada's team vs. the reigning champs of America's pastime, David vs. Goliath — there are so many ways to bill the best-of-seven World Series matchup between the American League champion Toronto Blue Jays and National League–winning LA Dodgers, which begins from Toronto tonight at 8 p.m. ET.
🐦 Jays' resilience on display: Toronto overcame a 2-0 series deficit and two-run Game 7 hole against the Seattle Mariners to reach the sport's biggest stage. Outfielder George Springer blasted the home run heard 'round the Great White North on Monday, while Canada's own Vladimir Guerrero Jr. continues to deliver, boasting a postseason-best 12 RBI. Born for this. 💙 Dodgers well-rested after dominant sweep: It's been a full week since LA ousted the Milwaukee Brewers in just four games, giving the Blue Crew time to line up their lights-out pitching staff for the series ahead. No matter how much time passes, expect two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani to pick up right where he left off after a historic NLCS showing. ⏩ Toronto rookie Trey Yesavage to face LA veteran Blake Snell in Game 1: From beginning the season in the low minors to World Series starter, 22-year-old Yesavage will look to continue his strong postseason debut. Meanwhile, the Dodgers will send out their two-time Cy Young winner, the southpaw with a remarkable 0.86 ERA these playoffs. Play ball, baby. |
| Together With Nike  Source: Getty Images 🦂 Float like a butterfly, sting like a scorpion — that's the Devin Booker way. The Phoenix Suns hooper just released his latest Nike signature shoe, the Book 1 Scorpion, glow-in-the-dark kicks that light up when the spotlight is on — just like the four-time All-Star.
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| Weekend Watching |
 Source: Getty Images 🇺🇸⚽ No. 23 Portugal vs. No. 2 USWNT — Sunday at 4 p.m. ET — TNT
🏎️ F1: Mexican Grand Prix — Sunday at 4 p.m. ET — ESPN
🏈 NFL: Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers — Sunday at 8:20 p.m. ET — NBC
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| The GIST's Picks |
Recs from our roster!
🩰 Who's hanging up her slippersTrailblazing ballerina Misty Copeland, who took the stage for her retirement show on Wednesday. In 2015, Copeland became the first Black woman to be promoted to principal dancer in the 75-year history of the American Ballet Theatre. Take a bow. |
👟 Where to cop new sneaksNike, home to the Giannis Freaks, Book 1s, A'ja Wilson's A'Ones, and so many more. When it's time to upgrade your sneaker game, it's Nike or nowhere.* |
👟 What to readThis article about Kenyan running's doping problem following yesterday's news that women's marathon world record holder Ruth Chepngetich was given a three-year ban after admitting to violating anti-doping regulations. *P.S. This is a sponsored post. Play the game. |
| Fun & Games |
Take Your Pick | ||
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FC Barcelona | vs | Real Madrid |
| El Clásico, the intense Spanish soccer rivalry between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid with an audience five times the size of the Super Bowl, kicks off Sunday at 11:15 a.m. ET. Which team do you think will win this time around?
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Today's email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Grace DePaull, Charlotte Mackenzie, and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Katie Kehoe Foster. Fact-checking by Marga Sison and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Briana Ekanem and Marga Sison. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.
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