The old razzle dazzle

The GIST: Grab a ShackBurger and settle in — the Australian Open enters the third round, and a few players are giving main character energy Down Under.

💪 Soon-to-be retiree Stan Wawrinka just keeps winning: During the Big Three era, the 21 years in which Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic won almost every single Grand Slam, few players were able to slay these giants — but Wawrinka did it three times (2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open, 2016 US Open), making him a cult legend among tennis fans.

• Back in December, Wawrinka confirmed that 2026 would be his last year on the Tour, but so far his peaceful swan song has been anything but: The 40-year-old Swiss star is onto the third round after Wednesday’s thrilling five-setter, where he defeated an opponent almost half his age.

• Wawrinka will next face world No. 9 Taylor Fritz today, alongside a few other standout matches: No. 8 Ben Shelton takes on No. 30 Valentin Vacherot while No. 4 Djokovic is looking for his 400th Grand Slam match win vs. Botic van de Zandschulp. Booked and busy.

🙌 Fashionista Naomi Osaka through to third round: No. 16 Osaka is turning heads for many reasons in Melbourne. Not only did she walk onto the court in head-to-toe couture for her first-round match, but she’s returning to her winning ways, moving onto the third round after yesterday’s icy three-set win.

• If Osaka’s victorious against Maddison Inglis today, she’ll advance to the Round of 16 for the first time since winning this very Slam in 2021.

• Already onto that round? Rising Canadian star No. 17 Victoria Mboko and two-time Slam winner No. 3 Coco Gauff, who won their respective matches last night.

The GIST: Comedian Amy Poehler once said of award shows, “When they get it right, it makes sense” — but that’s much easier said than done. Look no further than the NFL MVP award after this year’s five finalists were announced yesterday.

• The regular-season honor will likely go to one of two quarterbacks: LA Ram Matthew Stafford or New England Patriot Drake Maye, and both have compelling cases to win their first career MVP.

🐏 The case for Stafford: It’s all about the touchdowns (TDs), baby. Stafford led the league with an impressive 46 TDs this season, eight more than the next-closest signal caller. The 37-year-old also threw for the most yards this season (a whopping 4,707) while competing in the juggernaut NFC West. Quite the résumé.

❤️ The case for Maye: The second-year QB was the most accurate passer in the NFL this season by a long shot. But the real jaw-dropper? His ability to throw the deep ball: He completed a league-leading 22 passes of 20 air yards or more and averaged an NFL–best 8.9 yards per attempt. Even more intriguing is that Maye did it all without a superstar wide receiver.

🏆 MVP will be named on February 5th: Both candidates are in action this weekend, but postseason play doesn’t count toward their MVP campaigns. So while they contend for a Super Bowl berth, circle next month’s NFL Honors on your cal as we await the final MVP verdict.

The GIST: Only two undefeated teams remain in women’s college basketball. As expected, one of them is the defending champs, No. 1 UConn, but the other — No. 5 Vanderbilt — is an unexpected powerhouse. Ahead of the Commodores’ 3 p.m. ET Sunday showdown vs. No. 2 South Carolina, let’s break down the Black and Gold’s serendipitous success.

🏅 Head coach (HC) Shea Ralph’s championship pedigree: A quick glance at Ralph’s résumé shows that Vandy’s rise isn’t as shocking as it may seem. Ralph was an All-American for HC Geno Auriemma and the Huskies, playing from 1996 to 2001 before joining UConn’s coaching staff in 2008 and winning six titles as an assistant. The apple doesn’t fall far from the coaching tree.

✨ The history: The Commodores have made multiple deep tournament runs over the years, but they haven’t competed in a Sweet Sixteen since 2009. This season feels different with Ralph in her fifth year at the helm: Vandy’s off to its best start in team history, and they’ve beaten multiple top-10 opponents in the same season for the first time since that 2008-09 campaign.

🏀 The Commodores’ not-so-secret weapon: A killer combination of pace and efficiency. Not only does Vandy play fast, they also shoot an impressive 47.5% from the field as a team (far better than the national average of just over 40%), while knocking down an average of 10 three-pointers per game, fifth-most in the NCAA. Buckets on buckets.

• And it all starts with sophomore Mikayla Blakes, who’s averaging 25 points per game, the second-most in the nation this season. Paired with dynamic freshman point guard Aubrey Galvan, Vandy shows no signs of slowing down…literally.