The GIST: Another week of postseason football is in the books after this weekend’s Divisional Round action. Only four squads remain, with just one win separating them from a trip to Super Bowl LVIII. Kelly, can you handle this?

American Football Conference (AFC)

No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs upend No. 2 Buffalo Bills 27–24: The third playoff edition of the quarterback (QB) battle between KC’s Patrick Mahomes and Buffalo’s Josh Allen was another instant classic. But it was Mahomes and tight end Mr. Swift Travis Kelce’s NFL record 16th postseason touchdown (TD) that made the whole place shimmer.

• After Buffalo’s game-tying missed field goal went wide right (again), Mahomes is now undefeated against Allen in the playoffs and has reached the AFC Championship for the sixth straight year. Dominant doesn’t even begin to cover it.

No. 1 Baltimore Ravens crush No. 4 Houston Texans 34–10: When Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson talks, he backs it up with two rushing and two passing TDs. Meanwhile, the defense held Houston QB C.J. Stroud and his upstart Texans to zero (!!!) points in the second half. Even though Stroud couldn’t drop it like it’s hot on Saturday, Snoop’s still proud.

National Football Conference (NFC)

No. 1 San Francisco 49ers sneak by No. 7 Green Bay Packers 24–21: National Cheese Lover’s Day didn’t go as planned for cheeseheads, as a final-minute interception from Niners linebacker Dre Greenlaw sealed the dub for top-seeded SF. Missed opportunities will haunt the green and gold this offseason, especially kicker Anders Carlson’s missed field goal in the fourth quarter.

• The W came at a cost for the Niners though: Star wide receiver Deebo Samuel missed the entire second half with a shoulder injury, and his status is unknown for Sunday’s conference championship. Not gouda.

No. 3 Detroit Lions down No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31–23: Consider their kneecaps bitten off. Powered by two touchdowns and 287 yards from QB Jared Goff, the Lions booked their first conference championship ticket since the 1991 season yesterday. A squad that truly started from the bottom, winning just three games two seasons ago, the Honolulu blue has had the glow up of all glow ups.

The GIST: The Grand Slam Down Under enters its second week in Melbourne, with courtside vibes and IRL visitors hitting all-time highs as the quarter-finals begin. Love to see it.

Women’s singles: Calm, cool, and collected since her 2023 U.S. Open major win, world No. 4 Coco Gauff has yet to drop a set, cruising to today’s quarter-final match against Marta Kostyuk in record time.

• Joining the fan favorite in the quarters is defending champion No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka. Like Gauff, newly superstitious Sabalenka has swept her competition thus far and returns to the court today to face No. 9 seed Barbora Krejčíková.
• But noticeably absent is No. 1 Iga Świątek (pronounced sh-fee-ON-tek), who fell to Czech teenager Linda Nosková on Saturday. Świątek’s loss marks the earliest exit for a woman’s top seed at the tournament since 1979.

Men’s singles: Canada’s pride and joy, Félix Auger-Aliassime, sputtered out in the third round on Saturday, but North America has one remaining homegrown hope: No. 12 Taylor Fritz. The American defeated No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday, advancing to his first-ever tourney quarter-final where he’ll face…No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Tough draw.

• Djokovic will make his 58th quarter-final appearance at a major tomorrow as he fights for his record-extending 25th Grand Slam singles title.
• And last night, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 3 Daniil Medvedev locked in their own quarters’ berths, along with controversial competitor No. 6 Alexander Zverev. Yay?

From unprecedented viewership to big-time media rights valuations, women’s college basketball is exploding. Wish this moment could last forever? Well, thanks to Topps, it can.

Topps is celebrating collegiate basketball with their Bowman U Chrome Basketball launch, which includes female hoopers from the most prolific programs. A collection of cards featuring female athletes? The old boys’ club of card trading just went from Ken’s Mojo Dojo Casa House to Barbie’s a women’s sports dreamhouse.

Shaq. The four-part docuseries is all about the NBA legend’s life and career and is sure to put a smile on your face.

Country music. Apparently, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler wants to make a country album, and he plans to dish out 200 (!!!) tracks for it. Yeehaw.

The GIST Book Club on Fable. We just can’t put The Long Game by New York Times best-selling author Elena Armas down. You won’t be able to either.