The GIST - Sunday Scroll: Sports but make it spicy

Serving up drama ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
Sunday Scroll
From The GIST Team

Hey there!

Welcome to The GIST’s Sunday Scroll, where we dive deep into one timely sports topic.

Yesterday’s WNBA All-Star Game, which included the debuts of the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese and the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark, is officially in the books. And while the two superstars will take a well-deserved break from battling for WNBA Rookie of the Year honors during the international Olympic break, their ongoing rivalry game of basketball inspired today’s Scroll.

  • So let’s rehash the best rivalries in the history of women’s sports. Sundays are for spice after all.
Quote of The Day
Quote Me and Caitlin Clark don't hate each other. I want everybody to understand that. It's just a super competitive game. Once I get between those lines, there's no friends.
Angel Reese smiles

— The aforementioned Angel Reese during this year’s March Madness tournament, talking about her relationship with Clark before their highly-anticipated Elite Eight rematch. Their jersey colors might have changed, but the on-court fire endures — and women’s hoops is better for it.

The Scroll

🏒 Women’s hockey: Team USA vs. Team Canada

Aerin Frankel #31 of United States makes a pad save on Marie-Philip Poulin #29 of Canada in the third period during the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship Gold Medal game
Source: Troy Parla/Getty Images

The GIST: Forget the mediocre NHL enmities, Team Canada vs. Team USA is the greatest rivalry on ice. Case in point? The perennial powerhouses play an annual multi-game set — aptly titled the Rivalry Series — to showcase the best in the game. Always doing it for the plot.

The history: When it comes to international hardware, Canada and the U.S. have battled in the gold medal game in six of the last seven Olympics, 22 of 23 IIHF Women's World Championships, and 21 of 23 4 Nations Cups. No other country has won a major women’s hockey tournament.

  • The bitter rivalry started even before Canadian captain Hayley Wickenheiser’s spicy flag-signing comments after the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics (though no flags were actually harmed).
  • Rather, it came to a head after the upstart Americans upset Canada for gold when women’s ice hockey debuted at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. There’s no love lost (except where there’s plenty of love) between the two sides.

The biggest moments: It depends who you ask. For Canadian GISTers, it’s probably the 2002 Olympics, where the red and white exacted revenge for the aforementioned 1998 loss, beating the U.S. on their home soil to take gold.

  • As GISTers repping the red, white, and blue, Team USA’s 2018 shootout win in PyeongChang snapped Canada’s Olympic reign, securing the Americans their first Olympic gold since Nagano. A moment 20 years in the making.

⚽ Women’s soccer: Abby Wambach and Christine Sinclair

A collage of Abby Wambach and Christine Sinclair
Source: Getty Images

The GIST: From an early 90s rivalry against the “Viking b!tches” to hard-nosed battles against a Marta-led Brazilian contingent to legendary forward Alex Morgan sipping tea after scoring a goal against England at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the USWNT is no stranger to on-pitch drama.

  • But the women’s soccer rivalry that stands out is not between two teams, but rather the epic goal-scoring battle between two of soccer’s greatest players — American Abby Wambach and Canadian Christine Sinclair.

Setting the stage: The battles between the USWNT and CanWNT have become spicier over the last 15 years (looking at you, 2012 Olympic semifinal), especially as Wambach and Sinclair took the pitch for their respective nations. But historically, the USWNT has been much more dominant.

The scoring battle: Two of the most prolific scorers in soccer history, Wambach and Sinclair regularly shared the international and pro pitch. But Wambach climbed the international goal-scoring mountain first: She set the record (men’s or women’s) of 184 international goals in 2015, surpassing fellow American Mia Hamm to reach the milestone in 255 games before retiring the same year.

  • It would take Sinclair 35 more games than Wambach, but the Canadian striker took the top spot in 2020 and finished her career with an astounding 190 international goals — a mark that’s unlikely to be passed in the foreseeable future.

🏀 WNBA: Candace Parker battles Maya Moore

LA Sparks Candace Parker defends Minnesota Lynx guard Maya Moore during Game One of the 2017 WNBA Finals.
Source: Andy King/Getty Images

The GIST: Before the aforementioned Clark and Reese were getting the media riled up, there was coaches Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma, and Maya Moore and Candace Parker — the biggest players in two of the most exciting rivalries in women’s hoops history, which, of course, are intertwined.

College women’s hoops era dominated by two legends: The late, great Summitt helmed the Tennessee Lady Volunteers while Auriemma was (and still is) UConn’s bench boss. Accounting for 19 national championships between them, the two iconic coaches owned college basketball in the ’90s and early 2000s…and their relationship was anything but amicable.

  • The first women’s basketball rivalry to receive consistent national attention, Summitt and Auriemma’s teams featured hoops icons like Tennessee’s Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker and UConn’s Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi.
  • The in-season series — where the two schools clash during the year — was called off by Summitt in 2007, the same year the Huskies were cited for recruiting violations related to freshman phenom (and future WNBA MVP) Maya Moore — accusations revealed to the NCAA in a letter from Tennessee officials. Pour that tea.

Parker and Moore bring collegiate rivalry to the pros: Though the two WNBA superstars never battled on the college court, they brought the fierceness of their alma maters’ rivalry to the pros: Parker for the LA Sparks and Moore for the Minnesota Lynx. The teams split gritty back-to-back WNBA Finals in 2016 and 2017, both of which went to a championship-deciding fifth game.

  • These hotly-contested series were pivotal for a women’s hoops scene that had seen lopsided scores and struggles with parity at the college, pro, and Olympic level.
  • The international scores were so lopsided, in fact, that the U.S. Olympic team, coincidentally coached by Geno Auriemma, decided to leave two-time WNBA MVP and Vols alum Parker off its 2016 roster. Interesting.

🎾 Women’s tennis fiercest rivalries

Serena and Venus Williams laugh together as they stand with their trophies after Serena beat Venus to win the 2003 Australian Open.
Source: TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP via Getty Images

Content warning: This section contains mention of violence.

The GIST: If Challengers taught us anything it’s that tennis thrives on drama, and these three rivalries certainly fit the bill. No love triangles required.

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova: Tennis legends Evert and Navratilova played each other 80 times over their stellar careers — 60 of which were in tournament finals. Even more impressive, between 1975 and 1987, either Evert or Navratilova owned the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) No. 1 ranking for all but 23 weeks.

  • Widely considered one of the greatest rivalries in sports history, Evert and Navratilova became close friends after retirement, supporting each other through their respective cancer diagnoses. It’s the friends you make along the way.

Monica Seles and Steffi Graf: Seles and Graf were the next duo to bring the heat to the court, with both players swapping spots atop the WTA rankings in the early ’90s. Their rivalry truly began in 1990, when a surging Seles snapped Graf’s 66-match winning streak. The two superstars would clash 11 more times, with Graf holding an all-time 10-5 edge.

  • Unfortunately, this rivalry will always be marred by a horrific on-court stabbing incident in 1993 where Seles was attacked by a deranged Graf fan during a match. And while she’d return to pro tennis in 1995, she missed two years of competition at the peak of her career.

Serena and Venus Williams: Serena Williams had plenty of want-to-be rivals throughout her incredible career — but her longevity at the top of the WTA rankings left most of her fiercest competitors in the dust. In 22 matches against the GOAT, Maria Sharapova only managed two wins while Victoria Azarenka notched only five across 23 matches.

  • So who was Serena’s biggest rival? Her sister Venus, of course. The Williams sisters amassed a combined 122 singles titles and faced off against each other 31 times with Serena holding a 19-12 edge. Sibling rivalries just hit different.
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People taking a yoga class in the outdoors
Source: Getty Images

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The GIST's Picks

Here’s what has The GIST team currently hyped:

🍿 What to watch

I, Tonya, the 2017 film featuring Margot Robbie depicts the turbulent career of former figure skater Tonya Harding — from her difficult home life to the infamous incident with her on-ice rival Nancy Kerrigan.

📚 What to read

This article that shares an excerpt from Pat Summitt’s autobiography Sum It Up, detailing her tumultuous relationship with the aforementioned Auriemma. What happens on the court usually ends up in a book.

📅 What to mark on your cal

The next edition of the Rivalry Series, which will start in November. With the five-game set played in five different locations across the U.S. and Canada, check the schedule to see when the spicy showcase is in your neighborhood. Puck yeah.

Fun and Games

Question of the Day

Of the rivalries discussed in today’s scroll, which one fires you up the most? Did we miss your fave women’s sports rivalry? Reply to this email and let us know.

🏒 Women’s hockey

⚽ Women’s soccer

🏀 Women’s basketball

🎾 Women’s tennis

Older messages

This is for anybody going through times

Friday, July 19, 2024

All the stars are closer ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Special Edition: Top cheddar

Thursday, July 18, 2024

Lax it up like yeah ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

This Barbie is a WNBA legend

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Get your game on, go play ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

24 karat magic in the air

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Only shooting stars break the mold ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Sunday Scroll: The footy stops here

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And you get a trophy ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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