It’s not easy being green
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy Wednesday!
And, more importantly, happy almost Galentine’s Day! Make like Leslie Knope and start planning your breakfast spread as you dig into today’s full plate of sports news.
— American skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who made history alongside teammate Breezy Johnson yesterday, winning the first-ever World Alpine Skiing Championship team combined race.
- This was Shiffrin’s second race back since tearing an oblique in November, an injury that created a serious mental setback. Stronger every day.
Black History Month spotlight
⭐ Money talks
The GIST: It’s not easy breaking barriers, but that hasn’t stopped these three phenomenal Black businesswomen from shaking up the white male-dominated sports space.
💰 Nicole Lynn, President of Football Operations, Klutch Sports Group: Best known as Agent Nicole, Lynn is the right-hand woman to freshly crowned Super Bowl champion, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. She literally slid into Hurts’ DMs to discuss representing him ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft, unknowingly launching one of the most fruitful agent-player partnerships in the league.
- In 2023, Lynn negotiated a then–record breaking $255M contract extension for Hurts, and now leads the Super Bowl MVP’s all-women management team. Now that’s a true touchdown.
✨ Kirby Porter, Chief Brand Officer at Unrivaled: ICYMI, Unrivaled is the hottest thing in hoops — and Porter’s in large part to thank. From brainstorming the league’s logo to landing major brand partners like Ally Financial, TNT Sports, Under Armour, and more, it’s clear why this former collegiate baller was named to Forbes’ 2025 30 Under 30. Queen sh!t.
♠️ Sandra Douglass Morgan, president of the Las Vegas Raiders: Hut, hut, here she goes. Douglass Morgan is the first Black woman to lead an NFL team, joining her hometown Raiders in 2022 after more than two decades of working as a lawyer in sports and gaming.
- With Douglass Morgan at the helm, Las Vegas held its first-ever Super Bowl in 2024 — an enormous feat for a city that didn’t have a single pro sports team until 2017.
- While there are more women working in sports than ever before, there are just two female NFL team presidents. Thankfully, Douglass Morgan (along with Lynn and Porter) are proving if you can see it, you can be it.
4 Nations Face-Off
🏒 Icy and spicy
The GIST: It’s been 84 years nearly a decade, but the world’s best men’s hockey players are finally taking center ice in international competition, ready to represent their respective home countries at the NHL’s highly anticipated 4 Nations Face-Off.
- Choose your fighter, then scroll on for all the deets before the puck drops on the opening game tonight.
The context: From the lack of player effort to the perceived gimmicks, All-Star games have a bad rap across pro sports. That’s why this year the NHL is swapping the traditional All-Star game for the 4 Nations Face-Off, aka an international tournament featuring NHL players from, well, four nations: Canada, the USA, Finland, and Sweden.
- And everyone is excited: With the NHL banning its players from Olympic competition for the last two Games, this marks the first time in nine years that these four countries will showcase their top talent on the international stage.
- That’s right, many of the league’s superstars, including Canadian Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) and American Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs), have yet to represent their country as pros…until now.
How it works: The round-robin tournament ensures every country plays three games, one against each team. From there, the top two teams in the standings compete for the championship (and a whole lot of bragging rights) on February 20th.
- The best part? The spice. There’s a storied hockey history between Canada and the U.S., while Finland and Sweden’s rivalry runs even deeper — and that means these games matter to players and fans alike. International competition just hits different.
What to watch: The tourney begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET with Canada taking on Sweden at Montreal’s Bell Centre, followed by tomorrow’s 8 p.m. ET tilt between the USA and Finland. Puck yeah.
Together With Proline
The Philadelphia Eagles won big in Super Bowl LIX, and so did 56% of GISTers, who picked correctly in last Friday’s poll. But unfortunately, casting a vote with us only earns you bragging rights, not cash. That’s what you may win when you bet with PROLINE.
- With PROLINE, you can bet on so much more than just the scoreline. From the Gatorade bath to Kendrick’s outfit, folks wagered on the kookiest moments of the Eagles’ big day.
- Download the PROLINE app today and enjoy betting on all the wild, wacky, and weird aspects of the games you know and love.
🏀 And then there were four: Napheesa Collier, Aaliyah Edwards, Azurá Stevens, and Arike Ogunbowale are the inaugural Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament semifinalists after a raucous two days of half-court single-elimination hoops. Friday’s finals are up next.
🦖 Newly acquired Toronto Raptor Brandon Ingram is staying in the Six after inking a three-year, $120M extension yesterday. Rebuilds are better with friends superstar talent.
⚜️ Super Bowl–winning offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was named head coach (HC) of the New Orleans Saints yesterday, ending his one-year stint with the Philadelphia Eagles despite Philly HC Nick Sirianni hoping Moore would run it back with the Birds.
🏈 Sunday’s Super Bowl broke the NFL viewership record, peaking at 135.7M in the second quarter and posting an average viewership of 126M.
🏒 Returning from ACL surgery, reigning PWHL MVP Natalie Spooner made her highly anticipated season debut last night, notching an assist in the Toronto Sceptres’ 3–2 overtime win over the Minnesota Frost. Back like she never left.
🎓🏀 The No. 1 UCLA women continued their reign of dominance atop the AP Top 25 — but sophomore JuJu Watkins and No. 6 USC are hooping to hand the Bruins their first loss of the season in tomorrow’s 10 p.m. ET Hollywood showdown.
- On the men’s side, chaos was once again the name of the game as No. 15 Kentucky upset No. 5 Tennessee 75–64, No. 20 Michigan eked out a two-point win over No. 7 Purdue, and unranked Kansas State stunned No. 13 Arizona 73–70 last night. March, is that you?
Together With NBA Canada
Snagging jerseys to represent the Toronto Raptors or your favorite NBA player is easy. But representing Canada as a basketball fan? That’s been a challenge — until now.
Introducing the NBA Represent collection: the first-ever merch line made for Canadian hoops fans. Whether you’re a t-shirt-in-February kind of person or prefer some extra warmth, the new Represent collection has you covered.
- And with 21 Canadian players in the league this season, there’s never been a better time to show your pride. Eh-xcellent.
Celebrate Black History Month with these recs.
🐦⬛ Who to know
Ebony Short — the Baltimore Ravens’ secret weapon. A former Broadway designer turned NFL seamstress, Short keeps the Ravens’ gear in tip-top shape. She even customized quarterback Lamar Jackson’s jersey with built-in hand warmers.
🎶 What to listen to
This Genius x Jordan Brand playlist that explores MJ’s massive impact on music, featuring 23 tracks that reference the GOAT.
📚 What to bookmark
The StoryGraph. The Black woman-owned reading app is an alternative to Goodreads. Track your reads, get personalized recommendations, and support Black tech.
Question of the Day
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