Quite the first impression
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
New week, loading!
Make like St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Joshua Báez and jump right in: The 23-year-old made a historic MLB debut on Saturday, becoming the first player to homer in his first three at-bats. Talk about a good first impression.
WNBA
🏀 Doing iconic sh!t
The GIST: It was a great weekend for women in hoops, with an iconic No. 3 jersey raised to the rafters in Phoenix, and three legendary W hoopers adding an orange blazer to their closets. Let’s give the gals their flowers.
🪐 Phoenix Mercury retire Diana Taurasi’s jersey: The WNBA’s all-time leading scorer had her No. 3 retired during yesterday’s halftime ceremony in the desert. Widely considered one of the greatest women’s players ever, Taurasi’s impact on the game endures: She’s planning on joining the Mercury ownership group. The gift that keeps on giving.
💐 Three WNBA legends inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame: Candace Parker, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Elena Delle Donne were enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend as part of the 2026 class.
- 🧡 Candace Parker: A woman after our own hearts, Parker’s on-court legacy is pure excellence, spanning college superstardom and a trophy-laden 16-year WNBA career that includes two MVPs. The story of women’s basketball can’t be told without Parker…literally.
- 💜 Chamique Holdsclaw: While the six-time WNBA All-Star called herself “every woman,” her hoops résumé is anything but average, from her dynastic college days at Tennessee to a W career that includes the 2002 scoring title and two rebounding crowns.
- ❤️ Elena Delle Donne: Before the two-time MVP dropped the mic with her acceptance speech, she spent 10 WNBA seasons dropping buckets while becoming the founding member of the league’s exclusive 50/40/90 club. Made Lizzie proud.
From Toronto Tempo star Brittney Sykes’ potential return, to a showdown at Boston’s TD Garden, to Las Vegas Aces icon A’ja Wilson’s ongoing quest for a record-extending fifth MVP, there’s a lot to look forward to over the next two days of WNBA hoops.
- Five games will grace screens before our next newsletter — which tops your must-watch list?
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⚽ Cameroon win first WAFCON championship with 3–0 victory over Malawi
Thanks to a brace from forward Marie Ngah Manga and an insurance goal from midfielder Naomi Eto, Cameroon is now the fourth nation to win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON). The Indomitable Lionesses dismantled tourney debutant Malawi in yesterday’s win, silencing breakout sister duo Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga.
- Cameroon went undefeated throughout the tourney, knocking out 10-time champ Nigeria in the quarter-finals before ousting host nation Morocco in the semis.
🏈🇺🇸 Team USA men win sixth straight flag football world championship; U.S. women settle for silver
Led by three first-half touchdowns from wide receiver Tyler Davis, the American men were virtually unstoppable against Team Italy yesterday, opening up a 30-point halftime lead en route to a lopsided 46–26 victory. The win marks the seventh time the U.S. men have been crowned world champs, four more times than next-best Austria.
- As for the women, the three-time defending champs fell 27–20 to Team Canada in yesterday’s final — but they were this close to forcing overtime after being stopped on a fourth-and-goal with just three seconds left. Consider it fuel for the Olympics.
🏊 Australian Lani Pallister defeats Katie Ledecky in the 400m and 800m freestyle at the Pan Pacific championships
For the first time since 2012 in her storied career, Ledecky lost the 800m freestyle at an international meet, falling to Pallister on Saturday. The silver came just 24 hours after Pallister similarly stunned Ledecky in Friday's 400m freestyle final.
- Meanwhile, American Kate Douglass emerged as a clear name to watch at the LA 2028 Olympics, breaking the 50m freestyle world record not once, but twice on Friday. Casual.
🥍 Maryland Charm win inaugural Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL) championship
Turns out first time’s the charm. Maryland beat the California Palms 16–13 on Saturday to claim the inaugural WLL title in the league’s first full season. Attack Sydni Black earned MVP honors after registering four goals and one assist in the dub, while attack Alex Holman picked the perfect time for her first (and second, and third) goals of the WLL season. Now that’s cause for celly-bration.
⚽ Portland Thorns forward Caiya Hanks scored the game-winner in her first match back after an ACL tear, a heartfelt moment in the Thorns’ 2–1 Saturday win over the Orlando Pride.
✨ In more NWSL news, last night was downright magical in LA: Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman scored her 10th goal of the season before Angel City FC midfielder Ally Sentnor scored a late equalizer in the 1–1 draw.
- This one was full of returning stars: ACFC saw both defender Savy King and forward Sydney LeRoux take the pitch, while Spirit forward Ashley Hatch posted her first minutes following maternity leave.
😡 The NFL suspended Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr. for just eight games on Friday, a surprising number considering he’s charged with three felonies related to a February incident with his former girlfriend, WNBA star Rickea Jackson.
- In similarly perplexing news, the defending champ Seahawks plan to sign cornerback Terrion Arnold, who currently has eight felony charges levied against him — even after inking star cornerback Devon Witherspoon to a record-breaking deal. Make it make sense.
🎾 World No. 5 Novak Djokovic lost in the second round of the Cincinnati Open — the final tune-up tourney before the US Open — yesterday, later revealing that he’s dealing with an ongoing health condition that makes it difficult to play in the heat and humidity.
⛳ World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler dominated this weekend’s St. Jude Championship, winning the first of the FedEx Cup’s three tournaments by a remarkable eight strokes. Up next: the 70-player field narrows to 50 for the BMW Championship, which tees off on Thursday.
🏆⚽ Erling Haaland’s Manchester City lost the Community Shield 3–0 to English Premier League (EPL) rival Arsenal yesterday in the first official competition of the new EPL season. Racoons Rats.
Together With Toyota
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Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, and Lauren Tuiskula. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam. Ops by Elisha Gunaratnam and Briana Ekanem. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.
