The Bird to your Rapinoe
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Whether you’re spending it with the Bird to your Rapinoe or waiting for tomorrow’s discounted chocolates, thanks for starting this day of love with us and today’s sports news.
— Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, confirming he hasn’t made up his mind about retiring. Who could blame him — there’s no time to think about it when you’re auditioning for the Nacho Libre remake and clubbing with Taylor Swift’s parents.
Caitlin Clark’s record chase
🎓🏀 Records are meant to be broken
The GIST: Eight. More. Points. Barring absolute disaster, No. 4 Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark will break the NCAA women’s basketball career scoring record when her Hawkeyes host Michigan tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET for one of the sport’s most in-demand games ever. Chills already.
Her impact: This hometown girlie put Iowa basketball on the map when she committed in 2019, and the rest is (literally) history. Clark leads the NCAA with a jaw-dropping 32.1 points per game thanks to her lethal jump shot and offensive vision.
- But the Hawkeye senior’s off-court records are even more impressive: She draws consistently astounding attendance and viewership, and her logo threes and swagger dominate social media, inspiring future hoopers left and right. The “Caitlin Clark Effect” is real.
The context: Clark’s currently chasing WNBA star Kelsey Plum’s 3,527-point NCAA record, but she still has a bunch of buckets to go before passing two pre-NCAA trailblazers — Kansas alum Lynette Woodard leads all Division I women with 3,649 points, and Francis Marion alum Pearl Moore holds the overall collegiate record with a mindblowing 4,061 points.
- As discussed on yesterday’s episode of The GIST of It, these barrier-breaking women helped pave the way for Clark’s impending achievement, and giving them their flowers is crucial to celebrating Clark’s soon-to-be NCAA record-breaking bucket.
⚾ Longtime baseball announcer Jenny Cavnar was named as the Oakland A’s primary play-by-play announcer yesterday, making her the first woman in MLB history to hold the role. Diamonds really are a girl’s best friend.
📺 This year’s Super Bowl was the most watched program in the U.S.…ever, averaging 123.4M viewers. Hut, hut, holy sh!t.
⚽ The NWSL’s Bay FC continues to build their roster ahead of their inaugural season, signing Zambia striker Racheal Kundananji from Liga F’s Madrid CCF for a women’s record $860K transfer fee.
🎓🏀 The Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year midseason list dropped yesterday and the standouts include the aforementioned Clark, along with defending champion LSU’s Angel Reese and USC freshman phenom JuJu Watkins. A swish come true.
🎓🥎 2023 Women’s College World Series star Jordy Bahl tore her ACL during Nebraska’s season opener last week and will miss the remainder of the season. The standout pitcher spent two seasons with three-peat champs Oklahoma before transferring to her hometown Nebraska this year.
🤸 The upcoming 2024 USA Gymnastics Winter Cup will see the return of two Olympic champions: Suni Lee and Gabby Douglas. Lee’s been sidelined with a kidney issue since last year, while all-around champ Douglas will compete for the first time in nearly eight years. Can’t flippin’ wait.
🎾 Naomi Osaka is through to the Qatar Open Round of 16 and will face Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko this morning. Love to see it.
Together With State Farm
🏀 Home court glory
As you read, after coming up just short on Sunday, Iowa hoops superstar Caitlin Clark is only eight points shy of breaking WNBA great Kelsey Plum’s all-time NCAA women’s basketball scoring record, a feat she’s likely to achieve during tomorrow's 8 p.m. ET home game against Michigan.
- But that’s not all. Clark could soon become the all-time NCAA Division I basketball scoring leader across women’s and men’s hoops as she’s just 148 points shy of Pete Maravich’s 54-year-old record.
While Clark is stuffing the stat sheet on the court, State Farm has her back off of it. From their partnership with the point guard to their support of this newsletter, State Farm is ensuring athletes stay in the spotlight year-round. Hoop, there it is.
🏒 PWHL: Ottawa vs. Minnesota — Tonight at 8 p.m. ET — YouTube
- Yes, Ottawa’s at the bottom of the standings, but it took overtime for the very good Minnesotans to beat the Canadian squad in January. Anything can happen.
🏀 NBA: San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks — Tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET — NBA League Pass
- Yee that haw because it’s time for a Valentine’s Day Texas showdown. Expect sparks to fly when ultra-impressive Victor Wembanyama and his Spurs teammates square up against Luka Dončić’s red-hot Mavs. All’s fair in love and basketball.
⛳ PGA: Genesis Open — Tomorrow through Sunday — Golf Channel
- Likely clad in his newly minted Sun Day Red, world No. 893 Tiger Woods will make his
New York Fashion Week2024 PGA Tour debut amid a star-studded field that includes world No. 28 Nick Taylor, fresh off his raucous WM Phoenix Open win.
🎓🏀 NCAA women’s basketball: No. 6 NC State vs. No. 16 Notre Dame — Tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET — ESPN
- The ever-consistent Wolfpack take on the Fighting Irish, who are coming in hot after Sunday’s double-overtime win over fellow ACC foe, Florida State.
Together With Visit Sun Valley
This Valentine’s Day, treat yourself to something special: a self-care trip to splendid Sun Valley, Idaho, where you can work out in knee-deep snow before indulging in a hot-stone massage. Go on, make Tom and Donna proud.
- Feeling generous? Wish your bestie a belated Galentine’s Day by booking the ultimate chill-girl getaway to Idaho’s unbeatable mountains.
Here’s what has GIST HQ buzzing:
💗 Who’s stealing hearts
Joe Montana. The four-time Super Bowl champ used to call his wife from the sidelines just to tell her that he loves her. If he wanted to, he would.
🏈 What to watch
Coach Prime. The six-episode docuseries follows Deion ”Coach Prime” Sanders as he transforms the University of Colorado Boulder’s football program.
📕 What to read
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman. Read along with The GIST on Fable and subscribe to The GIST Book Club’s newsletters to stay in the know.
Question of the Day
Happy love day! Why not revisit some sports rom-coms to celebrate? Vote for your fave from the list below (or reply with what we missed!) then press play on your top flick with some chocolates by your side.
Today’s email was brought to you by Lauren Tuiskula, Alessandra Puccio, Marga Sison, Lisa Minutillo, and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Laura Pastore, Janine Kiefer, Emma Leishman, Rachel Fuenzalida, and Lindsay Jost. Fact-checking by Parul Kanwar. Ops by Briana Ekanem and Marga Sison. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alexis Allison, and Dee Lab. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.