“So is he a Cubs Pope or a White Sox Pope?”
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Welcome to the weekend!
PWHL, NBA, and NHL playoffs…oh my! Vatican City isn’t the only place where the pressure’s on — today’s newsletter is about all the high-stakes postseason happenings. Where there’s smoke…
- P.S. We’ll be discussing Mother’s Day in this Sunday’s edition of The Group Chat — if you’d rather not receive that newsletter, click here. It won’t impact your regular GIST subscription.
— Australian soccer legend Sam Kerr, announcing that her fianceé and fellow women’s footballer, former USWNT player Kristie Mewis, gave birth to their son. Happy tears.
PWHL playoffs
🏒 Pumpin’ up the volume, breakin’ down to the beat
The GIST: Forget the yellow brick road, it’s time to skip skate down the Walter Cup freeway as the PWHL’s second-ever postseason hits the ice. Both Game 1s are already in the books, but these feisty best-of-five semis are just beginning.
💛 Toronto Sceptres strike first with Game 1 win over Minnesota Frost: Sceptres rookie forward Julia Gosling lit the lamp twice in her playoff debut, burying both goals in less than two minutes to give No. 2 seed Toronto an early three-goal lead. And while the No. 4 seed defending champ Frost didn’t go quietly, Wednesday’s series-opener ended 3–2 in Toronto’s favor.
- The puck drops on Game 2 tonight at 7 p.m. ET, with bad blood in the air. The latest on-ice incident between the teams saw polarizing Frost forward Britta Curl-Salemme slapped with a game misconduct penalty. Watching, waiting to see if additional disciplinary action comes down.
🔥 Ottawa Charge upset Montréal Victoire in series opener: Sometimes choice can be a burden. Just ask the Victoire, who chose to play the third-seeded Charge and — for the second straight season — were on the losing end of a Game 1, falling 3–2 last night.
- Montréal have notably finished atop the regular-season standings for the last two seasons but have yet to tally a postseason win, a trend they’ll try to buck when the series resumes Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.
NBA playoffs
🏀 Questions are the new answers
The GIST: Think your bestie’s bachelorette was chaotic? Try the NBA Playoffs. For the first time in league history, two 60-win teams are down 0-2 in the second round — an unprecedented double whammy that has us questioning everything.
🤔 Can the defending champ Boston Celtics bounce back? Wednesday’s Game 2 saw the NY Knicks pull off a 91–90 win that was eerily similar to the stunning series opener. Immaculate comebacks aside, Boston’s led for all but 12 minutes in the first two tilts…just not when it mattered. In fact, the C’s have scored a measly 38 points combined in two fourth quarters and an overtime.
- Tomorrow’s 3:30 p.m. ET Game 3’s already the hottest ticket in town as the series shifts to NY, and only time will tell if Jayson Tatum and the C’s can claw back in this rivalry matchup.
🍳 Are the shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers cooked? Just like the other assumed beast-in-the-East, the Cavs are down two games to a lower-seeded foe, the Indiana Pacers. But there’s even bigger concerns plaguing The Land: injuries. Three key players, including Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, are questionable ahead of tonight’s 7:30 p.m. ET Game 3. Welp.
🔥 Was the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Game 2 domination an anomaly? OKC completely overwhelmed the Denver Nuggets from tip-off to the final buzzer in Wednesday's 149–106 Game 2 shellacking, but this kind of domination isn’t new for the Thunder: They beat teams by a historic 12.87 points on average during the regular season.
- Still, this series is level at one game a piece, meaning three-time MVP Nikola Jokić’s Nuggets aren’t going to roll over, especially with things moving to the Mile High City for tonight’s 10 p.m. ET Game 3.
❤️🩹 Can the Golden State Warriors survive without Steph Curry? You can ask the Magic 8 ball, but it’s not looking promising after the Minnesota Timberwolves evened the series with last night’s lopsided 117–93 win. Curry will miss at least a week, and hamstring injuries are notoriously pesky — that’s why tomorrow’s 8:30 p.m. ET Game 3 (and Monday’s Game 4) are already out of the question.
Stanley Cup Playoffs
🏒 Welcome to the Ice Age
The GIST: Hold onto your acorns because, though they moved at a glacial pace, the Utah Hockey Club will now be known as the Utah Mammoth, a thrilling development amid a flurry of Round 2 Stanley Cup Playoff updates. Let’s skate to it.
💙 Toronto Maple Leafs take 2-0 series lead over Florida Panthers: Just 17 seconds after Florida center Anton Lundell tied the game in the third period, Leafs winger (and new dad) Mitch Marner played hero, scoring the game-winner in Toronto’s 4–3 Wednesday dub. The series shifts to Sunrise, FL, with the defending champs in desperate need of a Game 3 win tonight at 7 p.m. ET.
⭐ Shine bright, shine far, Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen’s a superstar: The Stars took Game 1 3–2 over the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday, almost entirely thanks to Rantanen, who notched his second consecutive hat trick (yes, all three of Dallas’ ginos) in the victory. Can’t wait to see what he does in Game 2 tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET.
🔥 Washington Capitals weather the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2: The energy has shifted in this spicy series. After the Canes won a hard-fought Game 1 on the Caps’ home ice, Washington showed up last night, winning 3–1 behind a 27-save night from goaltender Logan Thompson. Now, it’s Carolina’s turn to play host tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET.
👊 Edmonton Oilers win second game on the road: The Oilers are getting the job done away from home, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after surviving last night’s 5–4 overtime win over the injury-hampered Vegas Golden Knights. And if forward Leon Draisaitl can keep up the barrage of shots, the odds are certainly in the Oilers’ favor for Game 3 in Edmonton tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET.
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Here’s what has The GIST team currently hyped:
🏃 How to treat your sore quads
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💄 Who’s teaming up
Fenty and the WNBA. Rihanna’s beauty brand just teamed up with the NY Liberty in a major win for game day glam.
🧤 What to wear
Sliding mitts, but make it fashion. Made for hand safety, these padded gloves have become a must-have accessory across all levels of softball and baseball.
*P.S. This is a sponsored post. Relief, incoming.Question of the Day
Along with the ice and the hardwood, the volleyball courts are also heating up ahead of this weekend’s PVF championship in Las Vegas. The reigning champion Omaha Supernovas led the way this year, but their semis opponent, the Indy Ignite, did beat them once during the regular season.
- As for tonight’s other semi, the Atlanta Vibe led the league in aces, meaning the Orlando Valkyries will have to do some digging to reach the final. Who do you think will win this year’s title when all is said and done come Sunday?
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 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.
