 | Leveling The Playing Field |
| From The GIST Team |
Happy Friday! | ||
| And congratulations on making it to the end of the first full week of 2026. Your reward? A weekend absolutely jam-packed with sports. So spoiled. | ||
| Quote of The Day |
 | On the second day of training, I took the silliest fall…and that ultimately resulted in me dislocating my shoulder. |
 | — Two-time Olympic snowboard halfpipe gold medalist Chloe Kim, who took a hard fall and may not be able to participate in the upcoming Milano Cortina Games. Kim will undergo an MRI today to assess the injury — sending all the healing vibes. |
| The Latest |
🎓🏈 Made for the moment Source: Getty Images via The Athletic The GIST: Settle into your best RBF — the College Football Playoff (CFP) national title game is halfway set following last night's heart-stopping semifinal, and one more squad will punch their ticket to the January 19th championship tonight. Here's what you need to know ahead of the 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff. 💙🌀 No. 10 Miami edges out No. 6 Ole Miss in instant classic: It was a battle to the literal final second, but the Hurricanes pulled off a wild 31–27 win thanks to the fourth-quarter heroics of quarterback (QB) Carson Beck and the Canes' pass defense, which broke up a would-be game-winner from Rebels superstar QB Trinidad Chambliss. Truly down to the wire.
❤️🦆 No. 1 Indiana seeks to repeat October win over No. 5 Oregon: Fans started to really take the Hoosiers seriously as natty contenders following their mid-season 30–20 victory on the Ducks' home field. Indiana's been a juggernaut ever since, topping reigning national champ Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship and routing No. 9 Alabama in their New Year's Day CFP quarter-final.
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🏈 Lights, camera, action Source: The GIST The GIST: But wait, there's even more high-stakes playoff football on deck: It's also NFL Wild Card Weekend, giving us five straight days of touchdowns, tackles, and tension. We'll preview Monday's tilt between the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers in our next newsletter. Until then, here's a two-minute drill on this weekend's five games. That NFL bracket won't pick itself, after all. 🐏 LA Rams vs. 🐈⬛ Carolina Panthers — Tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. ET: MVP candidate QB Matthew Stafford headlines a star-studded Rams roster that's dressing for revenge after a 31–28 upset loss to signal caller Bryce Young and these very same Panthers in Week 13. 🧀 Green Bay Packers vs. 🐻 Chicago Bears — Tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET: These bitter NFC North rivals split a pair of games in the last four weeks, and both were decided by just one score. The only way to distinguish between these evenly matched foes? Cheeseheads and cheese graters. 🦬 Buffalo Bills vs. 🐆 Jacksonville Jaguars — Sunday at 1 p.m. ET: Bills QB Josh Allen's path to his first career Super Bowl appearance has never been clearer, but the Jags are the hottest team in football, sporting an eight-game win streak. And that's on doing the heavy lifting. 🔴 San Francisco 49ers vs. 🦅 Philadelphia Eagles — Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET: The injury-riddled Niners are as tough as nails, but their defense is especially banged up — cause for concern if Eagles running back Saquon Barkley can replicate last season's playoff production. ⚡ LA Chargers vs. 💙 New England Patriots — Sunday at 8 p.m. ET: The Chargers' top-five defense will be New England's toughest test of the season to date, but that might not matter for a Patriots offense that's absolutely thriving with MVP hopeful QB Drake Maye under center. |
| Presented By Unrivaled  Source: Unrivaled 🤝 You deserve better basketball coverage. That's why we're popping into your inbox every Friday during the Unrivaled season to break down everything that makes this fast-paced league so electric.
💌 Consider it your weekly run-down of women's hoops brilliance, perfectly timed before every weekend of action. Opt in now — your new fave read is waiting. |
🏐 She bumps, she sets, she scores Source: LOVB The GIST: The second League One Volleyball (LOVB, pronounced "love") season is officially underway. Here's what went down during Wednesday's season-opening rematch between defending champ Austin and runner-up Nebraska, plus where to watch the NCAA-stars-turned-LOVB-rookies you know and love this weekend. Bump to it. 💪 Austin rallies to win epic five-setter: Much like in last year's championship, Austin outside hitter Logan Eggleston and opposite Madisen Skinner set the tone on Wednesday, leading their squad's electric offense back from dropping the first set. This connection runs deep — Eggleston and Skinner played one season together at Texas in their college years. 👀 Next up: Collegiate loyalties put to the test: Remember Texas A&M senior Logan Lednicky, who led her team to their first NCAA championship just three weeks ago? Well, she made her LOVB debut in Houston's straight sets loss to Salt Lake last night, where she was pitted against her former NCAA partner in crime, Ifenna Cos-Okpalla.
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| Quick Hits |
🏀 WNBA, players' union expected to enter "status quo" period after today's CBA deadline | ||
| Neither the league nor its players' union will offer a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) extension as today's deadline passes, but that doesn't necessarily mean a strike or work stoppage is imminent — though NY Liberty star Breanna Stewart said yesterday that a players' strike is something the WNBPA is "keeping in [their] back pocket."
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🏒 NY Sirens to face Seattle Torrent at Madison Square Garden | ||
| Mark your calendar: On April 4th, the Sirens will host the Torrent in the first-ever women's hockey game open to fans at the historic venue. MSG's capacity is over 18K, meaning a sellout crowd could set a new U.S. women's hockey attendance record, one already broken in Seattle earlier this season. | ||
⛸️ Amber Glenn leads the field at US Figure Skating Championships | ||
| Following Wednesday's record-setting short program skate, Glenn has the lead over comeback kid (and reigning world champ) Alysa Liu heading into today's championship-deciding free skate. That said, both are near-locks for the Olympic squad, which will be announced on Sunday. The American gals have not won Olympic figure skating gold since Sarah Hughes' 2002 victory. | ||
🏆⚽ Eleventh annual SheBelieves Cup set for March | ||
| Four squads — the world No. 2 USWNT, No. 10 Canada, No. 20 Colombia, and No. 30 Argentina — will play in the round-robin friendly tourney, with games scheduled in Nashville, Columbus, and Harrison, New Jersey. USWNT head coach Emma Hayes expressed her excitement for the competition, which features four 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup contenders.
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| Fun & Games |
Question of the DayFive high-stakes games in less than 48 hours? They don't call it Wild Card Weekend for nothing. Which of this weekend's NFL tilts are you most excited to watch? |
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Today's email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Rachel Fuenzalida, Grace DePaull. 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.
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