The GIST

New data on Gen Z teens underscores the generation’s appreciation for athlete advocacy around social issues

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a national study involving Gen Z teens yesterday, highlighting that sports and athletes heavily influence how teens perceive societal issues.

April 16, 2026

WNBA eyes international expansion as global athletes, fans develop ties to league

🏀

For the WNBA’s 30th season, the league is looking back — and abroad. Three of the first 12 WNBA Draft picks were international, including No. 3 Awa Fam Thiam from Spain. It makes sense to lure stars stateside as the league hopes to build fandom abroad: W commissioner Cathy Engelbert said she’s “heavily looking at” staging international WNBA games.

April 16, 2026

LSU sophomore Kailin Chio, UCLA senior Jordan Chiles headline the NCAA women’s gymnastics national championships

🤸

A positively stacked eight-team field has touched down in Fort Worth, Texas, for the NCAA women’s gymnastics national championships. Join the party and giddy on up — these women are flippin’ fantastic.

April 15, 2026

Drama abounds in NBA Play-In Tournament

🏀

Two games in, and the NBA Play-In Tournament is already doing what it does best — stirring up chaos. Official playoff berths are on the line, and the high-stakes hoopla has only just begun.

April 15, 2026

LOVB SF owners on unique Bay Area ecosystem that makes volleyball franchise a smash hit

🏐

This Thursday, LOVB serves up its championship weekend, which will air on USA Sports for the first time. This will be the last chip featuring the league’s inaugural six teams as three expansion teams will be added next year, including LOVB San Francisco.

April 14, 2026

Caddix lacrosse cleats fill crucial need in women’s market as Nike eyes lacrosse space

🥍

Nike netted a multiyear agreement with the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) and the Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL) yesterday as the official apparel partner of both leagues. This includes Nike-designed uniforms and sideline apparel, but doesn’t include cleats, a white space in the women’s lacrosse world — one that Caddix, a new USA Lacrosse partner, is busy filling.

April 14, 2026

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy wins second consecutive Masters

⛳

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy has cemented his legacy among golf’s greats, winning his second consecutive Masters yesterday. McIlroy’s victory wasn’t straightforward, but was decidedly human — par for the course for the Northern Irishman — complete with both brilliant strokes and bonehead swings. Truly a tradition unlike any other.

April 13, 2026

WNBA free agency and the entry draft: An exercise in roster building

Sports News

WNBA free agency and the entry draft: An exercise in roster building

🏀

April 13, 2026

WNBA free agency has lived up to the hype, with a myriad of moves coming after the official signing period opened on Saturday. All that action has set the stage for tonight’s 7 p.m. ET three-round entry draft in NYC. Keep those notifications on — women’s basketball never sleeps.

Read Full Story

The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #546

The Masters: The good, the bad, and the pimento cheese

April 09, 2026

Listen on Apple Music Listen on Spotify

The Masters: The good, the bad, and the pimento cheese

It’s tee time.

The 90th edition of the Masters kicks off at Augusta National today. The Masters isn’t just the first of the PGA’s four major tournaments of the season — it’s also a golf competition steeped in tradition, both good and bad. On today’s episode of the GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz dive deep on the Masters’ cultural significance, from the lush greens to the tournament’s history of racism and misogyny, before highlighting a few standout players we’re keeping an extra-close eye on this weekend.