It’s officially pro women’s volleyball season. Two leagues — League One Volleyball (LOVB) and Major League Volleyball (MLV) — will begin their second and third seasons, respectively, this week, so we’re serving up a deep dive on the surging sport.

We’re six stops into the PWHL’s third Takeover Tour, which expanded significantly this year in terms of length, number of stops, and brand partners. While Canadian tour stops are pulling more fans than U.S. ones, the tour is proving successful in every city when it comes to attendance.

With the calendar turning to 2026, that means it’s officially an Olympic year — that’s right, the Milano Cortina Games begin in just 32 (!!!) days. As the Olympic torch travels across Italy, here are the latest Olympic headlines, by the numbers.

Before we dig into all the hoopla to come, let’s take a look back at Unrivaled’s stellar 2025 debut. Unrivaled was launched in part to provide hoopers with a domestic playing option during the WNBA offseason, a welcome addition to the (increasingly crowded) women’s basketball landscape.

The Week 18 NFL slate can sometimes be a buffet of meaningless football, with the playoff field often set and teams resting their top talent — but not this year. There was plenty to play for in the regular-season finale, from division titles to all-important playoff seeding. Let’s dig in.

Save one lockout-canceled holiday in 1998, the NBA’s top teams have met on December 25th each year since 1947, just one year after the Basketball Association of America (which later became the NBA) was formed.

This holiday season, the Buffalo Bills aren’t just playing NFL games — they’re the latest team featured in a holiday-themed Hallmark movie thanks to the channel’s NFL partnership.

On Monday, Wasserman’s The Collective published the third part of its extensive research on the economy of women’s sports and the influence of women fans. In this edition, The Collective focused on the growth of the women’s sports ecosystem, studying macrotrends exemplified by increased private equity (PE) investment and infrastructure investment.

There’s just two weeks left in the regular season, and the NFL’s postseason picture is more chaotic than your last-minute trip to the mall. Forget sugarplums — visions of playoff spots are dancing in everyone’s heads.

Just like that, the College Football Playoff (CFP) quarter-finals (QFs) are set (and The GIST’s College Football Bracket Challenge is underway) after a thrilling weekend on the gridiron. And if you’re still looking for New Year’s plans, you’re in luck — there’ll be one QF game on New Year’s Eve and three more on New Year’s Day. Never too early to preview the action.

Tick tock — you have until 12 p.m. ET today to enter The GIST’s College Football Bracket Challenge, plenty of time to read this primer then make your picks. The top four College Football Playoff (CFP) seeds (No. 1 Indiana, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia, and No. 4 Texas Tech) received a bye to the quarter-finals, while the other eight squads will battle it out in first-round action beginning tonight. Hut hut, here we go.

Just like their college counterparts, the stakes are sky-high on the pro gridiron. With only three weeks left in the regular season, the NFL’s playoff picture is beginning to take shape — and three divisions are looking extra spicy in Week 16. Pour a glass of egg nog and let’s discuss.