Hug a baseball fan today — after failing to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Players’ Association yesterday, the MLB canceled the first two series of the regular season. There’s no crying in baseball, but we’re shedding some tears.

• At least we have today’s newsletter, complete with the other major happenings in the sports world. Grab some peanuts and cracker jacks (too soon?), and away we go.

I hope (...) that sport is gonna connect, and even though there are many things dividing us, it’s gonna connect us and it’s gonna bring us joy.

The GIST: Following Monday’s major news that FIFA and UEFA were suspending Russia from all competitions until further notice, there’s now increased pressure on other sporting bodies to take swift and decisive action in response to Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Paralympics: After initial concerns about their ability to travel to the Games (which we’ll have a full preview of tomorrow), the 20-athlete Ukrainian delegation is now expected to arrive in time for Friday’s Opening Ceremony.

• Excellent news that would be made better by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) taking further measures against Russia and Belarus today.

Elsewhere: As of yesterday, the International Skating Union (ISU) — already at the center of different Russia-related scrutiny — has barred Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in international skating events, consistent with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) recent recommendation. Finally some action.

• Speaking of, after Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina said she would not compete at the Monterrey Open if she had to face an opponent from Russia or Belarus, the WTA suspended membership for the countries’ Tennis Federations, meaning their athletes will compete as “neutral.”

• Svitolina went on to defeat Russian tennis player Anastasia Potapova in last night’s round of 32 matchup, and reiterated that she will donate all of her prize money to the Ukrainian army.

The bigger picture: Sporting bodies’ actions (or non-actions) aside, it’s essential to keep the human impact of this conflict in mind.

• We’re inspired by athletes like Svitolina and American tennis player Sloane Stephens, who donated her winnings from Sunday’s title win in Guadalajara to aid World Central Kitchen, the International Rescue Committee and UNICEF. Now that’s an ace.

The GIST: As written in our recently launched sports business newsletter (subscribe for free, if you haven’t already), the WNBA recently slapped a reported record-high $500k fine on the NY Liberty after players flew charter five times during the 2021 season, a violation of the league’s CBA.

The details: Liberty executive Oliver Weisberg was also removed from the WNBA’s executive committee after the team exceeded the allowable compensation to players through these flight perks. You can’t make this sh!t up.

• This punishment came after commissioner Cathy Engelbert reportedly “cut a deal” with Liberty owner Joe Tsai. The W originally threatened a $1 million fine, with punishments as extreme as taking away draft picks and even terminating the franchise being floated.

The bigger picture: Yes, rules are rules. The Liberty violated the league’s CBA, which is in place to help maintain parity in a growing league. But calling for investment in women’s sports then punishing a team owner for doing exactly that? That’s a tough one.

The GIST: What’s making us mad this March? The barriers that keep young girls and women from participating in sport. Luckily our friends at Under Armour are working to break those barriers down.

The how: Under Armour’s “Access to Sport” initiative is helping to ensure that sport is for everyone. Whether that’s by expanding women’s sport programming, equipping women with gear made for them or tackling the cost barrier to participate in sports, Under Armour is truly leveling the playing field.

• And they’re in it for girls like Layla Banaras, a 15-year-old soccer star in England. Layla dreams of playing professionally, and Under Armour is committed to championing those dreams…and the dreams of every “Layla” who comes after her. 

The commitment: Here at The GIST, every day is about celebrating women in sport. And thanks to Under Armour, we’ll be celebrating for a long time to come. Golazo.

The GIST: Hello, March and hello, madness. While we count down to Selection Sunday, some conference tournaments are getting underway, with four of the Power Five tourneys tipping off today. Let’s get ready for game time, baby.

The context: The single-elimination conference tournaments are a BFD. With 68 March Madness spots available (for the first time ever!), 32 of those are “automatic qualifiers,” representing the 32 Division I conferences. In short, win your conference title and you’re going to the Big Dance.

• Teams who don’t win their conference will still have a chance to be selected for March Madness, but their hopes rest on being granted one of the highly coveted 36 at-large bids.

• As each conference operates on their own schedule, some tourneys have already started, with the first champs set to be crowned this Sunday. Give us all of the hoops, please.

Must-watch games: Tomorrow’s Pac-12 slate features some of the nation’s best squads. Defending champs No. 2 Stanford begin play at 5:30 p.m. ET, where they’ll face the winner of tonight’s 5:30 p.m. ET matchup between Oregon State and Arizona State. Then friend of The GIST Sedona Prince and Oregon take on either UCLA or USC at 9 p.m. ET.

• Over in the stacked SEC, five of the top-25 teams will go head-to-head for the title, including Aliyah Boston’s No. 1 South Carolina. Other SEC squads to watch include No. 23 Florida and No. 24 Georgia, who begin play tomorrow.

• TL;DR? Clear your cal — it’s tourney time.

The latest episode of The GIST of It podcast. Co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz dive into the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys’ (truly vile) $2.4 million settlement with their own cheerleaders, plus even more WTF moments. We’re mad, and we’re gonna talk about it.

Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive season four trailer. After you watch, mark your calendar for March 11th, season four’s drop date. Bring on the drama.

Last week’s NCAAW viewership numbers. Basketball and softball recorded their most-viewed regular season games in recent years with 876k and 620k viewers, respectively. Turns out people do watch women’s sports when they're available.