Hello, March!

Today’s episode of The GIST of It is a classic two-parter, starting off with a WTF moment before digging into a hoop-tastic preview.First up, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz discuss an incident of homophobic chants at MLS squad San Diego FC’s first-ever home opener on Saturday. The gals dig into this pervasive and unacceptable trend in footy, including the MLS’ response to hate speech. There’s no place for hate in sports — full stop.

Then in part two, it’s off to the hardwood: the NCAA women’s basketball conference tournaments begin today, making this the perfect time to discuss how it works and what to watch before March Madness tips off later this month.

Here’s to a legend!

Diana Taurasi, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, announced her retirement on Tuesday, so today’s episode of The GIST of It is a toast to the queen of confidence. As co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz discuss, Taurasi’s skill, starpower, and most of all, swagger, re-defined women’s hoops — the game is in a bigger, better, and brighter place because of her. Bowing to the best.

Then in part two, the gals stay on the hardwood, previewing this weekend’s must-watch NCAA women’s hoops action as the regular season comes to a close. March is so close, we can taste it.

Ice, ice, baby.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is chasing history, now just 13 goals away from breaking Wayne “The Great One” Gretzky’s all-time NHL scoring record. So on today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz dive into Ovi’s pursuit of greatness, from his consistency across 20 (!!!) NHL seasons, to the challenges he’s overcome this year.

Then in part two, the gals zoom out to examine how record chases impact pro sports leagues and discuss the legendary athletes continuing a high level of play well into their thirties. Age is just a number, right?