Unsurprisingly, Saturday’s gridiron drama turned yesterday’s AP Top-25 poll upside-down. Hope you like your rankings shaken, not stirred — and perhaps, with a twist?

Rally pumpkins at the ready — the best-of-five National League (NL) Division Series Game 2s are in the books, with the American League (AL) Game 2s on deck tonight. Nothing like October baseball.

The puck’s already dropped on the NHL’s Global Series in Czechia, but with the league’s North American season openers hitting the ice on Tuesday, today’s newsletter is all about the season setup, the teams to watch, and the major storylines. Let’s do that hockey.

Extra-loud stadiums, the transfer portal, and the healing power of viral memes are all shaping tomorrow’s must-watch matchups.

the whole gang is back this weekend and they’re better than ever.

Blink and you’ll miss it — with the dust officially settled on the four best-of-three Wild Card (WC) series, it’s on to the best-of-five Division Series (DS), featuring the four remaining American League (AL) and four remaining National League (NL) squads. It all tees off with tomorrow’s quadruple header, serving up three divisional matchups. Yes, please.

The Golden State Valkyries announced a multiyear partnership with Kaiser Permanente (KP) yesterday, making the Oakland-based healthcare organization a founding partner of the expansion WNBA team and furthering the healthcare sponsorship trend in pro women’s sports.

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark’s trophy collection keeps growing with more WNBA end-of-season hardware being dished out, but only one member of the recently announced and absolutely stacked All-Rookie Team remains in contention for the championship title. Here’s what’s at stake in tonight’s crucial Game 3s.

The Collective — the women’s sports research branch of talent agency giant Wasserman — published new insights yesterday on women sports fans globally. Its most recent findings indicate women are a growing demographic in sports fandoms, one that activates more keenly around brands — something The GIST knows very well. *winks*

The Pac-12 announced another key win in its fight for survival yesterday.

It's reigning conference queens vs. a new rising power.

In an exclusive with The GIST today, AI–powered payment brand Klarna and Angel City FC (ACFC) announced the launch of the team’s limited-edition Hispanic Heritage Month capsule collection. The “del alma de los ángeles” drop was created in collaboration with LA–based designer Hija De Tu Madre to celebrate women’s sports and the Latinx community.