 | Presented by  |
| From The GIST Team |
Happy holiday week! | ||
| Today's our last regular newsletter of 2025: We'll have a Christmas games preview for you to unwrap on Christmas Eve, then GIST HQ will be off until the new year. Wishing you a wonderful, sports-filled holiday break — speaking of… | ||
| Quote of The Day |
 | I will be in this mask for a year- not risking breaking my nose again before my wedding!!!!! 🥰🥰 |
 | — LA Sparks and Unrivaled Breeze star Cameron Brink, candidly sharing the messy process behind creating a custom mask to protect her face. Batman, but make it chic. |
| The Latest |
🏈 Son of a nutcracker Source: Mike Dinovo/Imagn Images The GIST: There's just two weeks left in the regular season, and the NFL's postseason picture is more chaotic than your last-minute trip to the mall. Forget sugarplums — visions of playoff spots are dancing in everyone's heads. ✅ Four NFC squads punch postseason tickets in Week 16: The NFC West will be well-represented after the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers earned berths in Week 16, joining the already playoff-bound LA Rams.
❤️ New England Patriots clinch first playoff berth since 2021: Quarterback (QB) Drake Maye broke the 300-yard passing benchmark for the first time in his career — and it couldn't have come at a better time as the shorthanded Pats orchestrated an 11-point, fourth-quarter comeback to top the equally injured Baltimore Ravens 28–24 on Sunday Night Football. 👀 Four AFC teams watching Monday Night Football: A whopping four teams — the Jacksonville Jaguars, LA Chargers, Buffalo Bills, and Houston Texans — boast double-digit wins but haven't clinched a postseason berth…yet. If the Indianapolis Colts lose to the aforementioned 49ers tonight at 8:15 p.m. ET, the playoff-clinching floodgates would open, and all four would lock in their spots. ☝️ Playoff seeding will come down to the wire: There's still plenty to play for after a team has clinched…especially this season. Each conference's No. 1 seed (and the coveted home-field advantage and first-round bye that comes with it) is still up for grabs. The drama's only just begun.     |
🎓🏈 They're goin' up, up, up, it's their moment Source: NCAA.com The GIST: Just like that, the College Football Playoff (CFP) quarter-finals (QFs) are set (and The GIST's College Football Bracket Challenge is underway) after a thrilling weekend on the gridiron.
❤️ No. 2 Ohio State vs. 🌴 No. 10 Miami — December 31st at 7:30 p.m. ET: Defending champ Ohio State boasts one of the best offenses in the game…when QB Julian Sayin is locked in. The sophomore struggled in the Buckeyes' Big Ten championship loss to Indiana and needs to make like a goldfish before taking on Miami's impressive defense in the Cotton Bowl. 🤠 No. 4 Texas Tech vs. 🦆 No. 5 Oregon — January 1st at 12 p.m. ET: As expected, the Ducks routed James Madison 51–34 in their first-round Saturday game, which is bad news for the Red Raiders, who are dealing with a major QB issue. It's unclear if senior Behren Morton (who has been playing through injury most of the season) will be 100% for the Orange Bowl. Get this kid some Vitamin C. 🟥 No. 1 Indiana vs. 🔴 No. 9 Alabama — January 1st at 4 p.m. ET: Led by Heisman Trophy–winning QB Fernando Mendoza, the undefeated Hoosiers are itching to prove Indiana is a football school. But don't let the seeding fool you: Bama just pulled off the biggest comeback in CFP history and could cook up another upset in the Rose Bowl. 🐶 No. 3 Georgia vs. 💙 No. 6 Ole Miss — January 1st at 8 p.m. ET: The Rebels overcame the coaching carousel drama to secure their first CFP win on Saturday, but their prize is a primetime date with the Bulldogs, the only team to defeat Ole Miss in the regular season. Can Georgia's stout defense repeat in the Sugar Bowl against their SEC foes' injured front line? |
| Presented by Amazon Prime  Source: Amazon Prime 🚨 Red alert: You have two days to conquer your holiday shopping list. But don't panic — when the clock's ticking, there's no sweat or stress to find those last-minute gifts on Amazon Prime: 👀 Sit on your couch, beside your expertly decorated tree, and grab what's left of that holiday shopping list. ⚡ Use Prime's fast, free delivery and watch your gift game go from "uh oh" to "nailed it." Because when the countdown is on, you don't scramble — you slay. Not every holiday hero wears a cape. Some just have Prime. |
| Quick Hits |
🎓🏐 No. 3 Texas A&M volleyball beats three No. 1 seeds to win first-ever national title | ||
| Led by their nine seniors, the Aggies claimed their first national championship yesterday, topping No. 1 Kentucky in straight sets. Texas A&M's upset tour began in the regional semis, where they defeated No. 2 Louisville, and continued all the way to the 'ship with wins over No. 1 Nebraska and No. 1 Pitt on the road to glory. With storylines like these, it's no wonder everyone was watching. | ||
🏒 Boston Fleet suffer first loss of the season | ||
| It had been smooth sailing for the Fleet…until Friday's 5–2 loss to the defending champ Minnesota Frost. But the league's top team couldn't be held down for long: Seven different players tallied a point in yesterday's 3–1 bounceback win over the Seattle Torrent. The Fleet have scored a league-leading 18 goals and surrendered just eight through six games this season. Aye, aye. | ||
🏀 Houston Rockets ownership eyes Connecticut Sun purchase | ||
| All Houston wants for Christmas is a WNBA team — and the Rockets' ownership group is reportedly ready to play Santa, improving their previous $250M offer as relocation talks continue. The Mohegan Tribe, the current Sun owners, reportedly received a $325M offer from a Boston-based group in September, but it was controversially blocked by the WNBA.
| ||
🏒 Vancouver Canucks tally fourth straight win after trading captain Quinn Hughes | ||
| One of the biggest trades in franchise history seems to be panning out for the Canucks, who are sporting their longest win streak of the season after Saturday's 5–4 OT victory over the Boston Bruins. The trio of Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, and Liam Ohgren — all of whom were acquired in last week's trade with the Minnesota Wild — have re-ignited Vancouver's roster. On the way up. | ||
| Together With Gal Off Duty 🏖️ Time to find your beach Source: Gal Off Duty GISTer, it's time to find your beach, and we know just the place: Cancun, Mexico. We're giving away a beachside winter escape that includes: 🏨✈️ Three nights at the all-inclusive Royalton CHIC Cancun, an Autograph Collection resort and a $500 AMEX gift card for travel, 👙💆 $100 credit for cabana poolside snacks and beverages, plus a $100 credit for the resort spa, 🍸 And a tequila tasting experience for two. Cheers. Impressed? Don't wait — enter now and shoot your shot at sun-soaked bliss. |
| The GIST's List |
HOLIDAY RECS FROM | ||
 Christmas is almost here (!!!) — time to finish that shopping list once and for all. That's why we're sharing recs from The Group Chat, sourced directly from our team and The GIST Plus community. This week's theme: last-minute stocking stuffers. | ||
 | This super cute Gap line feels like cashmere, but is actually machine washable. Start with the scarf and maybe, just maybe, grab a matching set too. |
 | Who doesn't need hair oil? Best of all, this Target dupe smells just like Le Labo's Santal 33. You're welcome. |
 | Skiers love gadgets, and this one is pretty nifty. It's a compact ski strap that easily connects your skis and poles after a long day on the slopes. Clip in, and off to après you go. |
 | Yes, you love The GIST's many bracket challenges — but while we can't make a bracket for everything, you can. Grab this game to play with friends and pit the most unlikely items against one another, all in good fun. |
| Fun & Games |
Question of the DayIt's the holiday season and we want to know how you'll be spending the break. Choose from the options below, or reply with your plans. No matter what, we hope cheese is on the menu. |
 |
|
Today's email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Rachel Fuenzalida, Grace DePaull, and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Katie Kehoe Foster. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Briana Ekanem and Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.
| You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the GIST at our website: https://www.thegistsports.com | You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. |
View the web version of this email.
Post a Comment
Post a Comment