And that’s on sweat equity

The GIST: The PWHL’s best are getting ready to sweat ahead of Friday’s season-opening puck drop, and Gatorade Canada’s turning that salty effort into pivotal insights about women’s hydration standards. No, seriously — sweat isn’t just part of sports: It could be key to changing the game for women athletes.

👀 What’s this groundbreaking research?: Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI), aka the hydration brand’s research and development arm, is sweat testing 100 PWHL players from all four Canadian teams: the Montréal Victoire, Toronto Sceptres, Ottawa Charge, and Vancouver Goldeneyes, with the goal of better understanding the hydration patterns of elite women athletes.

💦 What exactly is a sweat test?: An excellent question. A sweat test measures variables like electrolyte replacement needs, fluid loss, and sweat rate. Athletes wear patches that absorb their sweat during a training session or game and are weighed before and after exercising to determine how much fluid they sweat out. Consider it the science of perspiration.

👏 Why does this matter?: Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but health and nutrition guidelines are usually derived from studies done on men. In fact, only 6% of sports science research is specific to women’s physiology. That’s problematic: Women’s bodies function differently than their male peers’, and this lack of women-centered data can be detrimental to performance.

• Now, study participants can fuel up with personalized hydration data and set a baseline for women-specific hydration standards. And this is just the beginning: By 2026, the GSSI’s research will include hundreds of athletes across multiple sports. And that’s on sweat equity.

The GIST: The first-ever draft of the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) isn’t until tomorrow, but the emerging league is already making headlines after announcing its surprising location for the inaugural season. Let’s dive in.

• 👋 ICYMI, women’s pro baseball is so back, with the WPBL making its four-team debut in August 2026. At tomorrow’s draft, each team can choose from a pool of more than 120 players selected from last summer’s open tryouts. Now you know.

🏟️ The WPBL’s first season will be played in the Midwest: Its four teams are named after bi-coastal, baseball-loving cities — NY, Boston, LA, and San Francisco — but the WPBL announced yesterday that the entire inaugural season will be played at a neutral (and unexpectedly remote) location: Springfield, IL.

• The WPBL said that with teams on both coasts, it’s best to play in the middle of the country. Don’t worry, The GIST Plus members are already planning a group trip in the Discord channel.

• Plus, the league’s new home, Robin Roberts Stadium, can seat 5.2K fans and will be used exclusively by the WBPL during its seven-week season. Nice.

👀 And now, it’s time for the draft: The six-round, snake-style draft begins tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET and will stream live on the WPBL’s socials. San Francisco will make the first pick, followed by LA, NY, and then Boston.

• Expect a few major names, like Sports Illustrated cover star and Little League World Series sensation Mo’ne Davis, Savannah Banana Kelsie Whitmore, and groundbreaking pitcher Ayami Sato to go early.

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🏀 NBA: Golden State Warriors vs. Miami Heat — Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET — NBA League Pass

• The NBA’s injury barrage continues with Milwaukee Buck Giannis Antetokounmpo and San Antonio Spur Victor Wembanyama joining Heat superstar Bam Adebayo on the league’s ever-growing injury list — but that orange ball just keeps spinning as the surging Warriors aim to capitalize on Adebayo’s anticipated absence on the road.

🏒 NHL: NY Rangers vs. Colorado Avalanche — Tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET — ESPN+

• Bundle up — the Central Division–leading Avalanche are burying everyone in their wake, amassing six straight wins while averaging a league-best 4.11 goals per game. Can Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin silence the flurry of Avs attackers? Time will tell.

⛳ LPGA: CME Group Tour Championship — Tomorrow through Sunday — Golf Channel

• The LPGA season comes to a close this weekend, when the top 60 golfers compete for a $4M winner’s check — aka, the biggest first-place purse in the women’s game. Will world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul defend her 2024 title? Or will No. 2 Nelly Korda finally earn her first Tour win of the season? Better late than never.

🎓⚽ NCAA women’s soccer: NCAA Tournament Second Round — Tomorrow at various times — Viewing info here

• Fourteen of the 16 second-round games take place tomorrow, including No. 1 seed Notre Dame vs. Ohio State at 6 p.m. ET. The Fighting Irish are cruising through the competition, but the Buckeyes have already tallied one upset, taking down No. 8 Georgia in the first round. Watch this space.