Wake up, babe.
Leveling The Playing Field
Welcome to your week!
Clear your calendar and order takeout for dinner — between WNBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA games (and a full moon, to boot), today is a sports equinox on steroids. We’re all in this together, so let’s make sure you’re up to date on the busiest time on the sports calendar.
WNBA
🏀 Ain’t no passing craze
The GIST: The best-of-seven WNBA Finals are now a best of three after the Golden State Valkyries rebounded from back-to-back losses to earn a 67–62 Game 4 Saturday win over the Atlanta Dream. Let’s relive the spiciest moments before turning our attention to tonight’s 8 p.m. ET Game 5.
💜 The pep talk that turned the tides: Valkyries linchpin Gabby Williams gave her team an impassioned speech after their Game 3 loss, and much like Simba, the Valks remembered who they were on Saturday. Golden State held the Dream to a pedestrian 33% shooting percentage, forced 17 turnovers, and rejected five shots, led by a Kiah Stokes’ block party.
- Most importantly, GSV stifled Dream superstar (and all-WNBA second team selection) Angel Reese, the driving force behind Atlanta’s Game 2 and 3 wins. Reese managed just eight points and committed six turnovers in Game 4.
📋 Head coach Natalie Nakase’s gamble pays off for Golden State: Coaches don’t usually change their starting lineups mid-playoffs, but don’t tell Nakase, who swapped out two starters on Saturday. She benched forward Cecilia Zandalasini to start Tiffany Hayes instead, and both ended up dropping double-digit points over the course of the game. Chess, not checkers.
👀 Back to the Bay Area for Game 5: The Dream failed to take a commanding 3-1 series lead at home. Now, they’ll need to win at least one game in famously intimidating Ballhalla to hoist the championship trophy. And the Valks are stellar at Chase Center — they boast a 22-6 record there this season (although one of those Ls is to ATL).
- And while there will be one more game in Atlanta, the big question is where? The 17K-seater State Farm Arena isn’t available because of a Hawks game, and the Finals can’t be moved this time around since it’s a weeknight. Stay tuned.
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MLB
⚾ Never say die
The GIST: The Brew Crew won Saturday’s Game 2 in dramatic fashion, meaning they could be World Series champs before our next newsletter. Buckle up.
- Teams with a 2-0 lead in the World Series have an 81% championship win rate, and no team has ever come back from a three-game deficit, so it’s officially do-or-die time for the Rays as the series switches to a fully restored Tropicana Field for Game 3 tonight at 8 p.m. ET.
⚠️ Rays were their own worst enemy in 5–4 Game 2 loss: Saturday had a picture-perfect start for Tampa Bay, who went up 4–0 in the first inning. But the Brewers steadily chipped away at the lead until a rare home run from right fielder Sal Frelick and go-ahead single from shortstop Cooper Pratt helped Milwaukee pull off their seventh come-from-behind dub of the postseason.
- With Games 1 and 2 each decided by one run, Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby’s ice-cold outing feels even more impressive, as do his 15 ⅔ scoreless innings pitched through these playoffs.
❌ Pitchers duel headlines Game 3 matchup: Rays pitcher Freddy Peralta takes the mound tonight having only allowed one run during Tampa Bay’s previous series, while Brewers lefty Robert Gasser (aka Bobby Diesel) has been similarly excellent, also giving up just one run in his two postseason starts. Something’s gotta give.
TOGETHER WITH Atlantis Paradise Island
🌴Away game vacay or tropical getaway? Take 20% off both. Battle 4 Atlantis is back, celebrating its 15th year of bringing college basketball to paradise for a one-of-a-kind tournament.
- 🏀 From November 24th to 27th, rep your school at both the women’s and men’s tourneys, all under one roof.
- 🏖️ After the final buzzer, hit up your home away from home, Atlantis Paradise Island, to soak up the (many, many) amenities the 154-acre resort has to offer.
⚽ NWSL playoff seeding comes down to Decision Day
Four more teams punched their postseason tickets, including the Utah Royals, who secured their first playoff appearance in club history. But whom and where they’ll play are totally up in the air as seeding, home-field advantage, the NWSL Shield, and the final berth won’t be fleshed out until next Sunday’s Decision Day.
- The Seattle Reign’s Friday draw opened the door for the North Carolina Courage or Denver Summit to steal the No. 8 seed when all 16 teams take the field for the regular-season finale. Drama.
🏎️ Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli closes in on World Drivers’ Championship title
Check a United States Grand Prix win off the 20-year-old’s bucket list — Antonelli cruised to a 13-second victory at the Circuit of The Americas yesterday. But his quest to become F1’s youngest champ continues next weekend in Mexico after Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Antonelli’s teammate George Russell kept the chase for motorsports’ most prestigious trophy alive with their race results.
🎓🏈 Then–No. 2 BYU’s double-overtime (OT) loss to UCF headlines another upset-filled Saturday
Only three undefeated teams remain after BYU became the fifth Top-25 team to fall to an unranked opponent this weekend — former No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 15 Iowa, and No. 16 USC all faced the same fate. Considering the bevvy of other upsets and OT barnburners we witnessed Saturday, yesterday’s fresh AP Poll is absolute pandemonium.
🇪🇸⚽ Kylian Mbappé brace powers Real Madrid to 2–1 El Clásico win
Spanish clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid entered yesterday’s 265th edition of their rivalry game, El Clásico, even at 106 wins apiece and 52 draws, but global superstar Kylian Mbappé tipped the scales for the latter behind his 99th and 100th goals for the club. The dub snapped Barcelona’s 23-game home win streak and spoiled their perfect start to the La Liga season. ¡Ay, caramba!
🥳 Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride stole the show on National Tight End Day, setting a record and hurdling defenders. But even a performance that valiant couldn’t snag the struggling Cards a W in their 30–16 loss to the Denver Broncos.
💜 The Minnesota Vikings are the only undefeated team left in the NFL after both the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs lost yesterday. Didn’t have that on our Bingo card.
❤️🩹 Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell made his first catch in 673 days — and it was a beauty, a 43-yard grab in the Texans’ 27–21 loss to the NY Giants. A moment worth celebrating.
🇫🇷 The NFL’s first regular-season game in France drew more than 78K fans yesterday, but the game’s hero was *checks notes* a kicker after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Chris Boswell nailed three field goals in their 16–10 win over the New Orleans Saints.
🐬 The Miami Dolphins finally slotted one in the win column, holding off a late charge from the NY Jets to notch the 28–25 nailbiterwin. Good for them.
P.S. Want more NFL coverage? Opt in to The GIST’s Weekly Blitz, our football-focused newsletter that breaks down the latest from the gridiron. See you in your inbox on Thursday.Today’s email was brought to you by Lisa Minutillo, Katie Foster, Rachel Fuenzalida, Grace DePaull, and Monica Schrock. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Elisha Gunaratnam and Briana Ekanem. Managing edits by Katie Foster and Lisa Minutillo. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.