Baseball all the time
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
More Madness!
Hope you’re ready for another weekend of NCAA basketball because the men’s Sweet 16 is officially underway (more on that below) and the women tip off this afternoon. You already know we’ll have a special edition preview in your inbox soon, but first today’s hoopla and more. Nothing but net.
— NBA commissioner Adam Silver, interestingly noncommittal when asked if WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert will remain in her role after the 2026 season. Guess we’ll wait and see.
Men's March Madness
🏀 How sweet it is
The GIST: Time flies when you’re dancing — just ask the four teams that have already shimmied their way into the men’s Elite Eight. The second half of the field will be decided today with the Final Four locked in before the end of the weekend.
- Ahead of today’s tilts, check out our Sweet 16 preview for the lowdown before reliving last night’s high-stakes hoopla.
🚂 No. 2 Purdue escapes No. 11 Texas with last-second tip in: It was just how the Boilermakers drew it up, at least according to senior Trey Kaufman-Renn. His game-winning tip with 0.7 seconds left gave Purdue a 79–77 W and the program their second Elite Eight ticket in three seasons.
👁️ No. 9 Iowa stuns No. 4 Nebraska 77–71 with second-half surge: Crunchtime hates to see Alvaro Folgueiras coming. The Hawkeyes junior scored eight of his 16 points in the final five minutes, powering Iowa to its first Elite Eight since 1987. Now that’s how you take advantage of an advantage.
🐱 No. 1 Arizona dominates No. 4 Arkansas: The Wildcats really were all in this together, using a balanced scoring attack — six players scored in double-digits — to secure a convincing 109–88 win over the Razorbacks. One more dub and Arizona will clinch its first Final Four berth since 2001.
🟠 No. 3 Illinois lean on defense in 65–55 win over No. 2 Houston: The Illini typically rely on their offense, but it was their D that answered the call last night: They limited the Cougars to just 34% shooting and two free throws. No wonder Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson wasn’t too happy.
🏀 WNBA expansion draft set for April 3rd
A coin flip will decide whether the Toronto Tempo or Portland Fire pick first in next Friday’s two-round draft, with the other squad receiving the sixth pick (instead of the seventh) in the April 13th entry draft. The expansion draft rules mirror those used for the Golden State Valkyries last season — including the caveat that each expansion team can only select one unrestricted free agent (UFA).
- That makes for an intriguing plot twist: Of the league’s 123 free agents, a whopping 77 are UFAs, including some of the W’s biggest names. This could mean the Tempo and Fire lean on free agency to fill out their rosters, rather than the draft. Watch this space.
📈 NBA Board of Governors approves expansion “exploration”
The NBA is growing for the first time since 2004. The Board’s nod of approval allows the league to begin taking bids for expansion teams exclusively in Seattle, the former home of the SuperSonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder), and Las Vegas, the NBA’s Summer League hub. It’ll cost a pretty penny though: Proposals are expected to reach between $7B and $10B. Cha-ching.
⚽ Denver Summit notch first-ever win ahead of anticipated record-breaking home opener
The NWSL expansion squad Summit reached new heights on Wednesday, defeating reigning champs Gotham FC 2–0 for their first franchise win. Forward Melissa Kössler has now scored in all three of the club’s games — will she go four-for-four when Denver hosts the Washington Spirit in front of at least 50K fans at Mile High tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET?
🎾 World No. 4 Coco Gauff advances to first Miami Open final, will face No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka
At long last, Gauff has reached the title match of her hometown WTA 1000 tourney after taking down No. 13 Karolína Muchová in straight sets in yesterday’s semi. But in order to hoist the hardware, she’ll need to defeat Sabalenka tomorrow — a rematch of the 2025 French Open Final, which Gauff won in three sets.
⚾ MLB: Athletics vs. Toronto Blue Jays — Tonight at 7:07 p.m. ET — Sportsnet
- Canada’s team begins their 2026 campaign at the Rogers Centre, where pitcher Kevin Gausman will get the Opening Day start as the rest of the staff contends with injuries. The three-game series continues through the weekend, highlighted by Dylan Cease’s Jays debut tomorrow. Play ball, baby.
🇨🇦⚽ No. 29 CanMNT vs. No. 74 Iceland — Tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET — TSN
- It’s officially FIFA men’s World Cup preparation time, and while Canada will compete with a depleted roster against Iceland, there’s still plenty to learn from in this friendly — namely, who’s going to be CanMNT’s starting keeper come June.
🏒 PWHL: NY Sirens vs. Montréal Victoire — Tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET — CBC
- While the Great White North has nationally broadcast PWHL games since the league’s debut (of course), this Detroit Takeover Tour showdown will be the first to air nationally in the U.S. And it’s just the start of a must-see five-game weekend slate.
⛸️ Figure Skating World Championships: Free dance — Tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. ET — CBC
- Canada has already reached the podium in Prague: pairs team Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud won bronze yesterday, their first worlds medal. Next up, Olympic bronze medal ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will attempt to add a fifth worlds medal to their collection in what could be their final competition ever.
🏎️ Formula 1: Japanese Grand Prix — Sunday at 1 a.m. ET — TSN
- Pencil in an afternoon nap because this is the last chance to scratch that F1 itch until May. Add in an intriguing new rule change ahead of tonight’s late-night qualifying round, and we’re in for an absolute treat — Red Bull’s Max Verstappen antics included.
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Grace DePaull, and Charlotte Mackenzie. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Briana Ekanem and Elisha Gunaratnam. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.