 | Leveling The Playing Field |
| From The GIST Team |
Spring has sprung! | ||
It's the spring equinox, the men's NCAA basketball tournament is already bringing the Madness (more on that below), and the women's action tips off later today following last night's First Four finale — life is good.
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| Quote of The Day |
 | I think this can be summed up in two words: player empowerment. |
 | — WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson, on the WNBA's transformational new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) after the league and its players' union reached a handshake agreement early Wednesday morning. Good things come to those who wait. |
| The Latest |
🏀 The dog days are over Source: Steph Chambers/Getty Images The GIST: Over 100 hours of negotiations later, we finally have a new WNBA CBA. The term sheet is still being finalized and the deal needs to be ratified, but reports indicate the league's sixth CBA is as transformational as hoped. And exhale. 💸 The details: Per ESPN, the salary cap now starts at $7M (up from $1.5M), supermax deals begin at $1.4M (up from $249K), and the average salary is $600K (up from $120K). Revenue share was a major sticking point for the WNBPA, and the sides landed at nearly 20%.
💥 The impact: This CBA sets a new standard for pay across women's sports, building on the momentum the league generated in recent seasons. Best of all, it will be life-changing for every player. The WNBA's minimum salary is now $300K, up from $66K. Yes, the ceiling has risen, but so has the floor. ⏩ What's next: So much to do, so little time. Ratifying the deal is expected to take until the end of the month, and what follows will be a flurry of hoopla. The league's to-do list includes an expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, free agency, the WNBA entry draft, training camp, and a preseason slate…all before season tip-off on May 8th.
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PRESENTED BY Amazon Prime 💅 March lineup locked in Source: Amazon Prime 🏀 It's about to be a massive hoops weekend — meet your fandom's starting five, courtesy of our pals at Prime: 1️⃣ Comfy sweats for your couch-coaching era 2️⃣ A caffeinated pre‑game ritual (lucky mug recommended) 3️⃣ Under eye patches for those late-night tipoffs and overtime thrillers 4️⃣ Noise‑cancelling headphones for post‑game peace 5️⃣ Fast, free shipping to keep you undefeated Shop the entire lineup on Prime. Getting ready for game day has never been easier. |
🎓🏀 Day 1: Busted Source: ESPN .The GIST: How's that bracket doing? March is already off to a heart-pounding start, with the signature Madness in full force during yesterday's men's first-round matchups.
😱 Upsets abound on Day 1: No. 12 High Point earned the first high-profile takedown of the tourney, topping No. 5 Wisconsin 83–82 early in the day. The No. 11 seeds also balled out: VCU beat No. 6 UNC 82–78 in overtime, while First Four victor Texas ousted No. 6 BYU and top NBA Draft prospect AJ Dybantsa 79–71 last night. 😬 No. 1 Duke narrowly avoids historic stunner: Things looked bleak for the tourney's No. 1 overall seed, who trailed No. 16 Siena 43–32 at halftime. Freshman guard Dame Sarr, who took on a bigger role in injured star Caleb Foster's absence, was ice cold from the field, but his late block tilted the momentum to help the Blue Devils avoid disaster with a 71–65 win.
❤️ No. 4 Nebraska seals program's first tourney win: Nebrasketball cruised past No. 13 Troy 76–47 last night, buoyed by forward Pryce Sandfort's seven daggers from beyond the three-point line. It's notably not the first NCAA tournament win in school history, but a BFD nonetheless. They'll go for number two against Vanderbilt tomorrow at 8:45 p.m. ET. |
TOGETHER WITH Modelo  Source: Modelo 🤯 No one saw it coming. No. 8 seed UNC men's basketball stormed through the 2022 tournament, knocking off every favored foe in their path (archnemesis included). And it all culminated in a magical championship game appearance under first-year head coach Hubert Davis. Talk about a debut.
In partnership with Modelo, we're highlighting game-changing moments from college basketball's biggest tournament. Cheers to that. |
| Weekend Watching |
 Source: OSU Athletics 🎓🏒 NCAA women's Frozen Four: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Northeastern — Today at 4 p.m. ET — ESPN+
⚽ NWSL: Portland Thorns vs. Seattle Reign FC — Tonight at 10 p.m. ET — Prime Video
🏒 PWHL: Minnesota Frost vs. Vancouver Goldeneyes — Tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET — YouTube
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| Fun & Games |
Question of the DayBirds chirping, warmer weather, and flowers in bloom — spring has officially arrived. To celebrate the vernal equinox, we want to know: What's your favorite part of the season? |
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Today's email was brought to you by Lisa Minutillo, Katie Kehoe Foster, Lauren Tuiskula, Grace DePaull, Charlotte Mackenzie, and Monica Schrock. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Briana Ekanem and Elisha Gunaratnam. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Katie Kehoe Foster. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.
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