Women —
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy hump day!
With just over two weeks until the first official day of spring, today’s newsletter gives flowers to a few iconic women in sports, in addition to digging into the best of the rest in recent sports news. Stop and smell the roses…
— Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles, who, alongside Team USA gymnastics teammate Jade Carey, was honored with her very own Barbie ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8th. If you can see it…
Women’s sports investments
💰 Forget about the price tag
The GIST: Time to make it rain — not one, but two powerhouse women athletes made major investments in women’s sports leagues on Monday. Talking that talk and walking that walk.
Serena Williams buys ownership stake in the Toronto Tempo: The tennis legend is now a part-owner of the WNBA’s first Canadian franchise, set to debut in 2026. As part of her role, Williams (who co-chaired the Met Gala and made her retirement announcement via Vogue) will help design the team’s jerseys, in addition to facilitating future merch collabs. Our DMs are open.
- This is the latest in a long list of investments that Williams and her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, have made in women’s sports.
- Williams is also a part-owner of the NWSL’s Angel City FC, while Ohanian has donated millions to his alma mater’s UVA women’s basketball, created the Athlos track and field competition, and is helping to franchise The Sports Bra, the first-ever women’s sports bar. Money moves.
Sabrina Ionescu invests in NWSL’s Bay FC: Fresh off a WNBA championship, NY Liberty star Ionescu is setting her sights on the soccer field, investing in her hometown NWSL squad. Like Williams, Ionescu will be more than just an owner — she’ll serve as a commercial advisor for Bay FC, leveraging her sneaker prowess to design cleats. Gotta kick it up.
Zooming out: This is far from the first time we’ve seen powerhouse female athletes making cross-sport investments. Retired USWNT stars Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe were among the first investors in Unrivaled, tennis legend Billie Jean King helped found the PWHL, and WNBA standout Caitlin Clark joined Cincinnati's NWSL expansion bid.
- There’s no business like
showbusinessthe business of women’s sports.
Question of the Day
Now it’s time for you to channel your inner Serena Williams and Sabrina Ionescu: Which of the following women’s leagues would you invest in? Choose from the options below or reply to this email with your answer.
🎓🏀 The final AP Top 25 women’s college basketball rankings of the regular season dropped on Monday — No. 1 Texas still reigns supreme while No. 2 USC boasts its highest showing since 1986.
🏆 Rose BC clinched a spot in Unrivaled’s four-team postseason with Monday’s dub over Laces BC. That means there’s only two playoff tickets left to punch heading into the final three days of regular-season hoops.
🏒 The Florida Panthers might opt to make moves ahead of this Friday’s NHL Trade Deadline: Star forward Matthew Tkachuk (pronounced kuh-CHUCK) is expected to miss an extended period of time due to a groin injury suffered during the 4 Nations Face-Off.
❤️🩹 The Dallas Mavericks are down bad…and not just because of that trade — Kyrie Irving, the team’s remaining superstar, sustained a season-ending ACL tear in Monday’s lopsided loss to the Sacramento Kings.
🏈 Philadelphia Eagle Saquon Barkley is now the highest-paid running back in NFL history after inking a $41.2M extension yesterday. A worthy pay day for the reigning Offensive Player of the Year.
⛳ Even before last night’s regular-season finale, Tomorrow’s Golf League already had its four-team playoff field set — and it doesn’t include league founders Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common or Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Links. Awkward.
Together With Peloton
🔥 A free workout? Say less.
The best way to celebrate Women’s History Month? By treating yourself. And, unlike that $7 iced coffee, this treat won’t break the bank: download the easy-to-use Peloton App for a free 30-day trial. You might already know that Peloton offers strength and cardio classes, but here are a few specific highlights:
💪 At-home pilates, sans scary reformer machines
🥊 Shadowboxing training, because you can never be too careful
☺️ Morning walk meditations to start your day on the right…foot
Enjoy a Peloton power-up with a free trial* for 30 days — no questions asked. Go get ’em.
*New App Members Only. Terms apply. Credit card required. After your free trial, App Membership is $12.99/mo for App One or $24/mo for App+. Cancel anytime before free trial ends.
🏒 PWHL: NY Sirens vs. Boston Fleet — Tonight at 7 p.m. ET — YouTube
- It’s been, ahem, smooth sailing for the Fleet against the Sirens this season — Boston is 4-0 vs. their eastward neighbor due in large part to goalie Aerin Frankel’s brick wall tendencies. Can they do it again? Or will the Sirens finally exact revenge?
🎓🏀 NCAA women’s basketball: Conference tournaments — Today through Sunday — Various channels
- The madness before the Madness is underway as teams battle for conference glory and, more importantly, an automatic bid to the Big Dance. Swish, swish.
🏒 NHL: Washington Capitals vs. NY Rangers — Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET — TNT
- ICYMI: Caps captain Alex Ovechkin is on the cusp of making history, now only 11 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record. Ovi’s lit the lamp 45 times against the Rangers in his career, the most of any active player. We like those odds.
Peep our squad’s MVPs (Most Valuable Picks):
⚽️ What to watch
For the Win: NWSL. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the NWSL playoffs in this new docuseries on Prime Video.
👶 Who’s a future athlete
This baby, now known as the GOAT of the New Orleans Pelicans Baby Crawl Race.
🌎 Where to get the news
If you’re looking for impartial news that’s enjoyable to read, The DONUT has you covered. Take a bite out of their fun and entertaining updates and add some wit to your inbox.
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Marga Sison, Megan Murray, and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Laura Pastore. Fact-checking by Marga Sison and Rachel Fuenzalida. Ops by Briana Ekanem and Marga Sison. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.