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From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
It’s almost fall, y’all!
We’re chasin’ the clouds away this Monday morning with a heaping helping of sports news. Let’s get right to it.
NFL
🏈 Expect the unexpected
The GIST: From a seldom-seen 4th-and-43 to a toe-tapping touchdown, the NFL was wild in Week 2…for better or for worse. Let’s break down a stunning Sunday of football.
🤯 Underdogs cause chaos: The resurgent New Orleans Saints beating the powerhouse Baltimore Ravens was not on our Bingo card, but don’t tell Saints quarterback (QB) Tyler Shough (pronounced SHUCK), whose fourth-quarter QB sneak lifted the Saints to a 24–17 win. And that was far from the only Sunday shock...
- The Las Vegas Raiders are 2-0 after beating QB Justin Herbert and the LA Chargers 26–14, and the Cleveland Browns didn’t let a weather delay (or ethics) interfere with their 23–19 upset of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
❤️🩹 Injury updates on superstar QBs: It was a no good, very bad day for the 2024 QB class. Chicago Bears signal caller Caleb Williams exited vs. the Minnesota Vikings with a hamstring injury (though was seen walking sans crutches postgame), while Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels re-injured the elbow that sidelined him last season. *insert expletive here*
- It was insult to literal injury for both franchises: The Bears managed just three points in their 9–3 loss, a stark contrast to their 59-point Week 1 explosion, before the Commanders fell to their division rival, the Dallas Cowboys, 37–20.
🍿 Up next: Monday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. ET, where three-time Defensive Player of the Year, LA Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, will make his season debut after unretiring this offseason. His first opponent? A very confident NY Giants team. So ready for it.
P.S. If you enjoyed this section, you’ll love The GIST’s Weekly Blitz, our Tuesday newsletter breaking down the latest from the gridiron. Talk about a touchdown.
WPBL
🏆⚾ It’s not over ’til it’s over
The GIST: The inaugural Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) championship will come down to a winner-take-all Game 5 after the No. 1 seed San Francisco Firebells roared back with two weekend wins over the LA Queens. Another chance to see the game’s best in action? Say less.
🔥 Firebells flip the script with offensive explosion: After LA put up 18 runs in Games 1 and 2, San Francisco brought the firepower while facing elimination — the Firebells scored a whopping 27 runs in Games 3 and 4. And it was a full-team effort with the bottom of the order contributing 10 RBI yesterday.
- Now, it all comes down to tomorrow’s 7 p.m. ET Game 5, where fans should expect another high-scoring affair. Both teams are ultra familiar with each other’s pitching staffs at this point in the series, a surefire recipe for runs.
👀 What’s next for the WPBL after tumultuous Year 1?: Tomorrow’s trophy presentation marks the end of an up-and-down debut. The WPBL brought pro women’s baseball back after decades, but questions remain about the league’s finances, communication, broadcast strategy, and more.
- It’s a classic women’s sports conundrum: How do you balance the promise of opportunity with the knowledge that players, fans, and the game itself deserve more than what can realistically be offered early on?
- We’ll dive deeper on the topic in Thursday’s members-only The GIST Plus newsletter (join the community here). In the meantime, soak up every pitch and enjoy history in the making.
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🏀 Three single-season WNBA records shattered this weekend
Indiana Fever star Kelsey Mitchell is the W’s single-season points record holder, eclipsing the 2024 mark set by Las Vegas Aces icon A’ja Wilson; Atlanta Dream headliner Angel Reese became the first player in league history to tally 500 rebounds in a single season; and Minnesota Lynx maestro Olivia Miles surpassed Caitlin Clark’s rookie points record. Consider the history books rewritten.
- But perhaps keep the white out nearby: New standards will continue to be set as the league adds more teams and more games to the schedule (this season’s 44-game slate will increase to 50 games in 2027).
🎓🏈 Now-No. 4 Ole Miss exacts revenge on former head coach (HC) Lane Kiffin
The emotions were high and the revenge was cold as QB Trinidad Chambliss and the Rebels held on to down their controversial former HC and then–No. 7 LSU 32–24 in front of a record home crowd on Saturday. As a refresher, Kiffin accepted a $90M job offer with the Tigers three weeks before the 2026 College Football Playoff where Ole Miss received the No. 6 seed and reached the semifinals despite their HC jumping ship. Talk about winning the break up.
- Elsewhere, Kentucky beat then–No. 9 Texas A&M 31–21 in the biggest upset of the weekend, while Vanderbilt pulled off a last-second dub so ridiculous you have to see it to believe it.
⚾ Half of MLB postseason spots claimed with less than a week to go in the regular season
The clinching continued over the weekend, with the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox joining the 12-team playoff party. The race for October is just heating up, but injuries continue to dominate headlines, particularly for teams who’ve already secured their spot.
- The NY Yankees placed slugger Aaron Judge on the 10-day injured list (IL) mere days after his first appearance following a lengthy IL stint, while the two-time defending champ LA Dodgers expect two-way star Shohei Ohtani to return to the lineup sometime this week.
⚽ NWSL postseason picture hinges on two big races
Four points (three for a win, one for a draw, zero for a loss) separate seeds two through five, aka the Washington Spirit, San Diego Wave, Utah Royals, and Portland Thorns in that order. As it stands, the Roses would make the playoffs and lose home-field advantage for the first round, but performances like Saturday’s 4–1 W over the Orlando Pride prove they are still on the rise.
- Meanwhile, five teams are fighting for the final three playoff spots: The North Carolina Courage, Kansas City Current, Seattle Reign, Angel City, and Denver Summit.
- ACFC’s 3–0 win over the Royals yesterday helped them jump from ninth to sixth and left the Reign on the outside looking in. Expect a lot of leapfrogging with just four more weeks of regular-season games.
Today’s email was brought to you by Lisa Minutillo, Rachel Fuenzalida, Lauren Tuiskula, and Grace DePaull. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Elisha Gunaratnam. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Lisa Minutillo. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.