The Call Up | The GIST

Finding where your skills, passions, and the industry intersect with Sarah Spain

A longtime friend of The GIST (and hero of our newsletter team), Sarah shared incredible advice on carving out a space for yourself in sports: Find your ikigai (more on what that means below). Spain discussed her pivot from her original passions — acting and comedy — to her iconic sports career as an ESPN journalist.

October 22, 2026

Why Canadian Tire’s 50/50 milestone is a masterclass in sports business

In 2023, Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) gave itself a three-year deadline to hit a 50/50 split of sponsorship dollars going towards women's and men’s professional sports. On Wednesday, the company achieved it. More than a milestone, this is a seismic shift in the sports business ecosystem.

October 20, 2026

Being authentic in the workplace with Susie Piotrkowski

Susie Piotrkowski is one of one: At ESPN, she drives the growth of women’s sports across the network’s massive portfolio. It’s a pretty big job, so she’s all about incremental progress — what can we do today to make women’s sports easier to find, watch, and be a fan of?

October 15, 2026

Using tentpole moments to break into or grow within the sports industry

The cyclical nature of sports means there’s always something big on the horizon. These tentpole moments — from the Super Bowl and Grey Cup to FIFA World Cups and playoff pushes — represent the best of competition and golden opportunities to accelerate your career.

October 13, 2026

Being entrepreneurial with Kirby Porter

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Kirby Porter isn’t just any C-suite exec: She was named Unrivaled’s CBO at just 27 years old, after a career that spanned working for corporate and venture capital firms, launching her own podcast, and founding a startup called New Game Labs. At Unrivaled, she’s responsible for crafting how the league shows up in the world — and making sure more of the world gets to see it.

October 08, 2026

New report from the Women’s Sports Foundation highlights a potential pipeline disruption

The Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) dropped its inaugural WSF Sport Report™ 2026 to provide an in-depth look at whether the current pipeline can sustain the women’s sports boom.

October 06, 2026

Adidas announces multiyear partnership with Unrivaled

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Adidas signed a new multiyear partnership with Unrivaled yesterday, becoming the league’s official uniform and performance apparel partner starting in the 2027 season, a switch from its initial deal in 2024 with Under Armour.

September 24, 2026

Upshot league continues making moves after completion of inaugural season

The Call Up

Upshot league continues making moves after completion of inaugural season

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September 22, 2026

In case you needed a reminder, the Upshot League debuted in May in hopes of fulfilling a much-needed development gap for the WNBA. While the 5v5 league isn’t associated with the W like the G League is with the NBA, it allows more women to stay game-ready and offers professional scouts an easy way to track talent when roster spots open up from inevitable injuries.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #599

The Jalen Hurts situation: What we know and what we don't

October 22, 2026

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The Jalen Hurts situation: What we know and what we don't

Today, we need to address the football elephant in the room: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who will not compete in the NFL again this season after being diagnosed with multiple blood clots in his lungs. There’s a lot to unpack with this story, from the timeline around Hurts’ diagnosis to the NFL Players Association now calling for a “full investigation” into his treatment during this saga. That’s why co-hosts Steph Rotz and Alessandra Puccio are here to clearly define what we do know about this story and what we don’t. Game on.