Six sleeps until the Bad Bunny concert
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
Hello, February!
The turning of the calendar brings the start of Black History Month — the perfect time to honor Black trailblazers in sports and reflect on how the games we love can so often be a vehicle for change. Take a moment to look back as we work to keep moving forward.
— 6-time Grammy winner Bad Bunny, speaking out after winning Best Latin Album at last night’s Grammy Awards. Just six sleep until his Super Bowl LX halftime show — can’t wait.
Unrivaled
🏀 Breaking records, taking names
The GIST: Sorry if we sound like an, ahem, broken record, but blame it on Unrivaled because the innovative women’s basketball 3v3 league just keeps setting new standards — and Week 4 isn’t even over. Let’s discuss yet another weekend of smashed ceilings.
🔔 Philly is definitely Unrivaled: History was made in Philadelphia on Friday as 21,490 fans packed Xfinity Mobile Arena, setting the mark for the most-attended regular-season women’s basketball game ever. Choosing Philly to host the league’s first Tour Stop was intentional: The city has a known appetite for hoops, but it isn’t a pro women’s basketball market…at least not yet.
- Philly hasn’t fielded a pro women’s team since 1998, so Unrivaled capitalized on that demand. And there’s more touring to come: The league will add more cities in 2027, while keeping Miami’s Sephora Arena as its hub. Consider the blueprint made.
🪣 Lunar Owl Marina Mabrey sets single-game scoring mark: As if one broken record wasn’t enough, the 29-year-old dropped a mind-boggling 47 points in the Owls’ 85–75 Friday win over Rose BC, breaking Vinyl superstar Dearica Hamby’s single-game record of 40 set just two weeks ago.
- Mabrey was incredibly efficient, knocking down an Unrivaled-record 10 three-pointers (on just 15 attempts), all in a mere 21 minutes of action. A bad day to be the crashout jar.
Australian Open
🎾 All in a day’s work
The GIST: While you were almost certainly sleeping, tennis history was made in Melbourne during this weekend’s Australian Open finals. Here’s what you missed on Glee the signature blue hard courts of Rod Laver Arena.
👑 World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz completes career Grand Slam: Playing in front of his hero, fellow Spaniard and tennis legend Rafael Nadal, 22-year-old Alcaraz became the youngest man to win all four Grand Slams yesterday. What’s more, he defeated the GOAT, No. 4 Novak Djokovic, in four sets to do it. Just the beginning.
- A 24-time Grand Slam champ, Djokovic is prolific at this tourney with 10 trophies. In fact, yesterday marked the first time he ever lost in an Australian Open final.
- Now 38 years old, Djokovic is still playing extraordinary tennis late in his career, knocking out No. 2 Jannik Sinner in Friday’s semi and even winning the first set against Alcaraz — but he admits he doesn’t know what the future holds. Stay tuned.
🏆 No. 6 Elena Rybakina defeats No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka for second Grand Slam title: Rybakina capped off a dominant tourney with a thrilling three-set take down of Sabalenka on Saturday, a win that highlighted her powerful serve and poise under pressure. Now she’ll move up to No. 3 in the world rankings while Sabalenka heads back to the drawing board.
TOGETHER WITH Snyder's of Hanover
🎉 The biggest sports week of the year calls for a watch party. Our plus-one for the function? Snyder’s of Hanover’s® Pretzel Pieces, available in varieties that push the limits of flavour like:
- 🍯 Honey Mustard & Onion — the dynamic duo
- 🧀 Cheddar Cheese —the crowd pleaser
- 🔥 Hot Buffalo Wing — for the thrill seeker
Finish your party prep and pick up a bag of Snyder’s of Hanover® pretzels at a convenient location. Hungry just thinking about it.
🗣️ WNBA, players’ union will meet today to discuss collective bargaining agreement (CBA)
As LA Spark Kelsey Plum said on Friday, “everyone understands what’s at stake.” CBA talks have stalled in recent weeks after a December proposal from the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) reportedly went unanswered by the league. The W deemed that proposal, which included a 30% gross revenue share, too similar to the union’s previous proposal.
- ICYMI, the two sides entered a “status quo” period on January 9th after the previously agreed-upon extension expired, meaning either party can initiate a work stoppage at any time. Soon after, they agreed to a moratorium that halted the initial stages of free agency.
- The league’s already behind schedule with its May 8th start date looming: The Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire need to complete their expansion drafts, an event that took place in December for the 2025 expansion team Golden State Valkyries. Time keeps on ticking.
⛳ World No. 2 Nelly Korda ends title drought, wins first LPGA tourney of the season
Korda is back to her winning ways, clinching the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions yesterday. The victory, albeit at a tourney cut short due to severe weather, was especially redemptive after the American dominated the 2024 season with seven titles only to go winless in 2025.
- Meanwhile in the PGA, world No. 10 Justin Rose set a new tournament scoring record to win the Farmers Insurance Open, finishing 23-under-par yesterday. Not too shabby.
🏀 Philadelphia 76ers veteran Paul George slapped with 25-game drug policy suspension
The 35-year-old’s suspension will cause him to forfeit nearly $12M in salary. The league did not disclose additional details about the incident, but the nine-time All-Star released a statement on Saturday, saying he took an “improper medication” while undergoing treatment for a mental health issue. George is eligible to return on March 25th.
🥌 Kerri Einarson’s Team Canada wins Scotties Tournament of Hearts
As Team Homan prepares for Milano Cortina, a pair of Manitoban skips, Einarson and Team Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes, exchanged blows in last night’s final of the annual tourney before Canada stole a point in the extra end to earn the 4–3 win. Einarson’s the 17th Scotties champ from Manitoba, the most of any province or territory. Friendly Manitoba? Not on the ice.
Question of the Day
February may be the shortest month of the year, but it’s packed with plenty of sports. Which event are you most looking forward to in the month ahead?
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Grace DePaull, and Charlotte Mackenzie. Editing by Katie Kehoe Foster. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Briana Ekanem and Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.