The GIST - Pedro Pascal can do no wrong
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Quote of the Day |
I wish players would understand that the Pride sweaters are about inclusion and welcoming everybody. A player wearing Pride colors or tape isn’t endorsing a set of values…he is saying you are welcome here. And you are, in every single NHL building. |
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— LGBTQIA+ advocate and Pittsburgh Penguins’ president of operations Brian Burke, responding to San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer’s decision to not wear a Pride jersey nor participate in the team’s Pride night game on Saturday. A choice reflective of a disturbing trend in the NHL: hockey is clearly not for everyone. |
The Latest |
🏀 How Sweet (16) it is
The GIST: Heart still pounding from the men’s March Madness action? Same. After a wild weekend, the fellas’ Sweet 16 is set — here’s who’s through, who’s out and who’s making the highlight reels along the way.
The upsets: There have been a whopping 12 since the tourney tipped off, including the ousting of two No. 1 seeds: Purdue fell in Friday’s first round, and Kansas became the sixth straight defending national champ to fall in the tourney’s first weekend after being upset 72–71 on Saturday.
- The glass slipper goes to No. 15 Princeton for downing No. 2 Arizona and No. 7 Missouri to make the Sweet 16, but legendary HC Tom Izzo’s No. 7 Michigan State is another sleeping beauty to watch.
- While these upsets may feel like miracles, they’re really a sign of increasing parity in the men’s game. But underdogs beware — there’s still plenty of chalk dust in the air.
As expected: Four of the top eight squads are still swinging. No. 1 seeds Houston and Alabama overcame shaky moments to sail to the Sweet 16 with relatively comfortable wins. No. 2 Texas is looking resilient as well, but No. 2 UCLA put the “survive” in “survive and advance” with Saturday’s narrow 68–63 win over No. 7 Northwestern.
- Although they’ve won out so far, these powerhouses’ struggles are yet another sign of parity. They’ll have a few days to rest and regroup before the Sweet 16 tips off on Thursday when they’ll try to turn any surging Cinderellas back into pumpkins.
🏀 Don’t call it a comeback
The GIST: Parity in the women’s game is increasing every day, but it’s not quite at the men’s level yet. For the most part, the top dogs have been kicking ass and taking names in the gals' bracket…although it’s not been so easy for all of them.
The comeback kids: For the ladies, this weekend was all about rebounding — literally and figuratively. No. 3 Ohio State, No. 9 Miami and No. 7 Baylor all bounced back from 16-plus-point deficits to steal wins on Saturday, the first time in women’s Madness history that three drastic comebacks occurred on the same day. It’s not how you start…
- Similarly, No. 2 Iowa, No. 2 Utah and No. 3 Notre Dame were all surprisingly shaky as they punched their Sweet 16 tickets yesterday — even No. 1 South Carolina wasn’t as dominant as usual, although they cruised past No. 8 South Florida in the end.
- The big exception to this rule? No. 1 Stanford’s shocking 54–49 upset at the hands of No. 8 Ole Miss last night. The Cardinal is the only women’s No. 1 seed to fall so far, injecting some chaos into a mostly as-expected bracket.
Up next: Today’s eight games will decide the rest of the Sweet 16 field. Put No. 4 Villanova and No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast’s 7 p.m. ET tilt at the top of your watchlist: FGCU is one of the lowest remaining seeds (aka the one last chance at a true Cinderella), but Nova forward Maddy Siegrist is not one to overlook.
- With her 35 points on Saturday, Siegrist became one of just five players in Division I women’s history to score 1K points in one season. Plus, she’s a vocal advocate for the gals’ game — you know we love to see it.
🐦 The GOAT is a bird
Let’s take a quick trip back to 2001. The typically dominant UConn women’s hoops squad is hobbled by injuries (sound familiar?), but the Huskies have still advanced to the conference championship against their archrival, Notre Dame.
- With the score tied and 5.1 seconds left on the clock, a 20-year-old Sue Bird goes coast-to-coast to drain a buzzer-beater and secure the ’ship for UConn.
- It would go down as one of the most electrifying moments in women’s hoops history. But many missed it because women’s sports receive only 10% of major sports media coverage.
Fast forward to today, the problem remains, but Buick is working with Bird’s media and commerce company, TOGETHXR, to create change. They produced a series of interviews with incredible female athletes (including Bird herself) to amplify the women’s game.
- Hearing the GOAT relive that legendary shot in her own words? Priceless.
Odds and Ends |
🎿 Skier Mikaela Shiffrin broke another record to close out the season, winning her 21st giant slalom and extending her all-time career wins to 88. But are you really surprised?
⚾ Team USA crushed Team Cuba 14–2 in last night’s World Baseball Classic semifinals and will face the winner of tonight’s Japan vs. Mexico showdown tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET.
🏎️ Sergio Perez held off teammate Max Verstappen to give Red Bull a one-two finish in yesterday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was reinstated to third place post-penalties.
🎾 Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz defeated Russian Daniil Medvedev to win Indian Wells, breaking his opponent’s 19-match winning streak and reclaiming the World No. 1 ranking in the process.
🎾 Kazakhstan's No. 10 Elena Rybakina dominated Belarus’ No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to claim her first Indian Wells title.
🏒 The Minnesota Whitecaps swept the two-time defending champions Boston Pride to advance to Sunday’s PHF final, where they’ll face the winner of tonight’s 6 p.m. ET Game 3 tilt between the Toronto Six and Connecticut Whale.
🎓🏒 Unranked Wisconsin upset reigning champs and No. 1 Ohio State 1–0 to win a record seventh women’s ice hockey national championship.
🎓🏒Though her team lost in the final, Buckeye Sophie Jaques became the first Black woman to ever win the Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the best player in DI women’s hockey.
The GIST's Picks |
Monday's never looked so good. Here’s what The GIST team’s loving right now.
📖 What to read
Dawn’s List. Legendary South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley worked with Aflac to develop three actionable strategies to help close the gap in funding for women’s athletics: investment equity, fan experience and community engagement. We love a woman (and a duck) with a plan.*
💜 What’s in season
Lavender. Whether it’s in a candle, latte or vase, this holy herb is showing up everywhere. Surreal.
🥚 What’s cracking
Cadbury mini eggs. With Easter right around the corner, it’s time to indulge in these sweet treats…or add them to your brownie batter.
✨ How to get (and stay) organized
Subscribe to The Home Edit’s Backstock newsletter, for helpful tips, tricks and recommendations beyond what you’ll find on social media. Organization, meet style.
*P.S. This is a sponsored post. Support companies that support women's sports.
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Older messages
Records are meant to be broken
Monday, February 27, 2023
More power to 'em
Sunday Scroll: Celebrating Black women in sports
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Leading the way, as per usual
Special Edition: Kicking things off
Saturday, February 25, 2023
Open wide for some soccer
One step closer
Friday, February 24, 2023
Kicking the weekend off right
Get’cha head in the game
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
It all comes down to this
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