A new mascot has entered the villa
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
It’s a new week!
Maybe that calls for a new ’do? Chop or not, we’re taking inspo from Manchester City star Erling Haaland and embracing a fresh start on this Monday. Let’s do this.
WNBA
🏀 Gonna be a bright, bright sun shiny day
The GIST: It isn’t a summer weekend without statements made on and off the court in the WNBA. As much as some try to distract, here’s the latest from the hardwood with just over a month until the postseason begins.
✅ Atlanta Dream, Indiana Fever, NY Liberty, and Washington Mystics clinch playoff berths: All four join the league-leading Minnesota Lynx, surging Golden State Valkyries, and reigning champ Las Vegas Aces in the eight-team postseason field.
- That leaves just one spot still TBD (along with seeding), with two squads — the Dallas Wings and Portland Fire — still in contention to claim it. Buckle up.
🤓 Minnesota’s Olivia Miles continues to shine: The clear Rookie of the Year frontrunner, Miles is also making an MVP case, breaking yet another record over the weekend. The 2026 No. 2 overall pick became the fastest player to reach 700+ career points and 200+ assists, achieving the mark in just 36 games. Catch The Spectacle back in action vs. the Valkyries tonight at 8 p.m. ET.
🌹 Portland introduces mascot, Rose: A new bombshell mascot has entered the villa. The 2026 expansion team unveiled Rose the Glitter-Breathing Dragon yesterday, the latest diva in an already stacked lineup of WNBA mascots. Slays only.
😞 Brittney Sykes, Aneesah Morrow out for remainder of the season: The Toronto Tempo finally snapped their lengthy losing streak on Friday, but the good news sadly stopped there. Already eliminated from the playoffs, the team announced that standouts Sykes and Morrow have been sidelined due to injury. Can’t wait for the comeback.
🎾 Looking to show your support for women in sports? That’s why The GIST has merch. Every piece is sporty, bold, and playful… just like our GIST community.
- ✨ There’s something for everyone: Staples for gameday and beyond, pieces with something to say, and casual gear for your everyday look.
Spend $70 or more and shipping’s on us. Happy shopping.
Tennis
🎾 No love lost
The GIST: The US Open, tennis’ final major of the season, is just around the corner. But first, the tune-up Cincinnati Open delivered history and a whole lot of momentum before the stars descend on the Big Apple. Time to serve up the highlights.
🏆 No. 4 Coco Gauff claims another title: Fan favorite Gauff defeated fellow American No. 3 Jessica Pegula in straight sets last night to snag her second career Cincy crown. Gauff broke Pegula twice to race out to a 5-0 lead in the opening set before closing out the win in commanding fashion. Not a bad US Open sendoff.
- As for the men, No. 21 Arthur Fils is officially a Masters 1000 champ after defeating American No. 23 Frances Tiafoe yesterday. Fils is the first Frenchman to win the singles tournament since 1991. Magnifique.
⏩ Looking ahead to the US Open: Now the spotlight shifts to New York, where the main draw for the final Grand Slam of the year begins on August 30th. The GOAT Serena Williams will make her first competitive appearance at the tournament since 2022, joining reigning men’s singles champ Carlos Alcaraz in mixed doubles after the pair received a wild card. The duo we didn’t even know we needed.
- Sadly, not everyone is NYC–bound. While Alcaraz will also return to singles play after a four-month absence due to a right wrist injury, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is officially out with a persistent right knee injury.
🏎️ McLaren’s Lando Norris wins Dutch Grand Prix (GP)
Norris picked up right where he left off from F1’s month-long hiatus, cruising to the checkered flag at Zandvoort ahead of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and George Russell yesterday. Meanwhile Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s final Dutch GP came to a screeching halt after a Lap 1 crash sent him into the wall. A rough outing for the Orange Army’s hometown hero.
⛳️ The CPKC Women’s Open crown belongs to No. 7 Miyu Yamashita
Yamashita went wire-to-wire in Edmonton, picking up her fourth career tour win and first of the 2026 season. After opening with a tournament-record 62-stroke round on Thursday, Yamashita never let up, carrying a six-shot cushion into yesterday’s final round. Tee-riffic.
- Canada was well-represented on home soil, with teenagers Anna Huang and Aphrodite Deng finishing fourth and seventh, respectively.
⚾ Toronto Blue Jays avoid sweep against NY Yankees series amid playoff push
Despite dropping two of their three weekend games, Toronto’s still firmly in postseason contention with just over a month to go. Ace Dylan Cease was lights-out in Saturday’s win, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. returned from the injured list, and the vibes can remain high as the Jays host the struggling Kansas City Royals starting tomorrow at 7:07 p.m. ET.
🏌️ No. 8 Wyndham Clark claims BMW Championship
With world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler playing through illness, Clark capitalized at Bellerive Country Club yesterday, holding off No. 2 Rory McIlroy to pocket $3.6M and make a major surge in the FedExCup race. Speaking of, just 30 golfers from this weekend’s 50-player field advanced to next week’s decisive Tour Championship. It’s almost trophy time.
So many highlights, so little time. We rounded up a few top moments from the weekend — which is your favorite? Choose from the options below, or reply and let us know.
😮 Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young’s catch of the year contender
⚽ North Carolina Courage forward Ashley Sanchez’s late game-winner
🏀 Dallas Wings’ Paige Bueckers nets career-high six three-pointers
Today’s email was brought to you by Lauren Tuiskula and Grace DePaull. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam. Ops by Elisha Gunaratnam and Briana Ekanem. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Katie Kehoe Foster. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.