Billion with a B
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
Mid-week moves!
The PWHL will make an announcement regarding expansion today at 10 a.m. ET, with rumblings that as many as four teams could be joining the surging eight-team league. Put a hold in your cal to tune in for the news, then go ahead and get your scroll on.
- P.S. Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday, along with our The Group Chat edition on sports and motherhood. If you’d rather not receive that newsletter, click here. It won’t impact your regular GIST subscription.
🏒 No. 1 seed Montréal Victoire beat No. 3 Minnesota Frost 1–0 in triple overtime
For the 13th time in 29 PWHL playoff games, last night’s tilt went to overtime…and then some. In a show of extraordinary goaltending from both Montréal’s Ann-Renée Desbiens (38 saves) and Minnesota’s Maddie Rooney (51 saves), it took until the 105th minute of game play for the Victoire’s Marie-Philip “Captain Clutch” Poulin to score the sudden death game-winner and even the series.
- The Boston Fleet vs. Ottawa Charge (tied 1-1) semis series will resume later this week, but first the Frost and Victoire are right back to it for Game 3 tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET. Pass the pickle juice.
🏀 NBA No. 1 seeds secure second-round Game 1 wins
The conference semifinals couldn’t have started any better for the NBA’s top dogs. The Eastern Conference–best Detroit Pistons defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 111–101 last night, while the Western Conference’s Oklahoma City Thunder beat the LA Lakers 108–90 hours later. Both teams will aim to rinse and repeat in Game 2 tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. ET, respectively.
- Want more high-stakes hoops? You’re in luck with two Game 2s tonight, too. The NY Knicks (up 1-0) and Philadelphia 76ers clash at 7 p.m. ET, before the San Antonio Spurs (down 1-0) try to bounce back from a series-opening L to the Minnesota Timberwolves at 9:30 p.m. ET.
🏒 Colorado Avalanche continue scoring frenzy in Game 2 victory
It wasn’t 15 goals, but last night’s 5–2 Avalanche win over the Minnesota Wild still featured plenty of lamp lighting. And everyone’s getting in on the action: Twelve different Avs players have scored through the first two games of the conference semis. Game 3 isn’t until Saturday, so the Wild will have plenty of time to figure out how to slow down this dangerous Colorado attack.
- Tonight’s slate is equally as intriguing: The puck drops on Game 1 between the youthful Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres at 7 p.m. ET, followed by a 9:30 p.m. ET Game 2 between the Vegas Golden Knights (up 1-0) and the aggrieved Anaheim Ducks.
- Over in Carolina, the Hurricanes have yet to lose a game this postseason, opening up a 2-0 lead on the Philadelphia Flyers with Monday’s overtime win. See if the Flyers can weather the storm on home ice, tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET.
Major League Volleyball
🏐 Exceeding expectations
The GIST: Block party, loading. The Major League Volleyball (MLV) semis are set for tomorrow, where the top four regular-season finishers will battle for a spot in Saturday’s championship, not to mention a $1M bonus. As Tate McRae says, just keep watching.
🔥💫 First up, the No. 1 seed Indy Ignite vs. No. 4 Omaha Supernovas: The winningest team in a single season in MLV history, Indy boasts four first-team all-leaguers (the most of any squad), including middle blocker Lydia Martyn. The Supernovas will counter with outside hitter Sarah Parsons, who is on a hot streak and could help, ahem, spark a major upset.
💓✨ No. 2 Dallas Pulse take on the No. 3 San Diego Mojo in second semi: Debutante Dallas reached the playoffs in their first season and boast a major advantage: The semis and title match will be held in their home arena. However, Pulse outside hitters Mimi Colyer and Sofia Maldonado-Diaz will need to bring their best against Mojo libero Shara Venegas, a defensive machine.
Together With Major League Volleyball
🏐 Are you going to watch a major moment in women’s sports history? There’s only one more sleep until the country’s most elite volleyball players compete for the Major League Volleyball championship… and a million dollars (!!!).
- 🕜 When: Tune in tomorrow, May 7, at 6 p.m. CT for all the semifinal fun, live and louder than ever.
- 📺 How: Watch for free across live television and all streaming platforms nationwide, thanks to ION. Can. Hardly. Wait.
WNBA
🏀 A curtain call
The GIST: The WNBA regular season tips off on Friday, but this league never sleeps. From a bona fide legend retiring to more wheeling and dealing as rosters are finalized, here’s the latest from the hardwood.
👏 Tina Charles hangs up her sneakers: There’s simply no room left in the 14-year veteran’s trophy case. Though playoff glory remained elusive, the former No. 1 draft pick earned the highest of individual accolades: Charles’ résumé includes a 2012 WNBA MVP, nine All-WNBA honors, and two scoring titles. She retires as the league’s all-time leading rebounder and its second leading scorer.
📋 Rounding up the rest of the headlines:
- ✍️ Defensive juggernaut Natasha Cloud signed a $555K deal with the Chicago Sky on Monday, before the Sky waived Hailey Van Lith later that day. Expect more moves across the league with each team’s finalized 12-player roster due tomorrow night.
- ❤️🩹 The NY Liberty will be without injured superstar Sabrina Ionescu for Friday’s season opener, while the Golden State Valkyries’ Kate Martin hopes to be in action as she works to rehab a strained quad.
- 💸 Speaking of the Valkyries, newly released valuations set the Bay Area team at $1B (yes, billion), making them the first women’s sports franchise to reach the mark. This is Ballhalla.
👑 No. 8 — A’ja Wilson wins unprecedented fourth MVP (2025)
Wilson is one of the greatest players the world has ever seen. Full stop. Not only did she earn her league-record fourth MVP last season, she also became the first player in basketball history to win MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, the scoring title, and Finals MVP in the same season. Is there anything higher than Everest? Asking for a friend of The GIST.
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Grace DePaull, and Charlotte Mackenzie. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Elisha Gunaratnam and Briana Ekanem. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.