And Justin Bieber’s bestie is thriving
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy Friday!
And a special congrats to GISTers Christina and Leslie, the respective winners of our women’s and men’s March Madness brackets. The Big Dance may be over, but spring sports are in *ahem* full swing. Let’s scroll.
— Angel City FC and former USWNT star forward Christen Press, sharing her recovery progress as she fights to return to the pitch following four knee surgeries. Unimaginable.
NBA
🏀 It all comes down to this
The GIST: The NBA regular season comes to a close on Sunday, but the playoffs are far from set. While 20 teams have clinched a postseason spot, only three teams have locked in their seeds, meaning we’re in for a wild weekend of hoops.
How the postseason works: The top six teams in both the Eastern and Western Conferences advance to the official first round, but the seventh through 10th seeded squads will face off in the dreaded Play-In Tournament for the final two berths in each conference.
- In terms of the Play-In, the No. 7 seeds face the No. 8 seeds while the No. 9 seeds take on the No. 10 seeds.
- The winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchup clinches the No. 7 playoff spot, but the loser has another chance — they’ll face the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 contest. The victor of that final matchup snags the eighth and final postseason berth. Fun, right?
Eastern Conference (EC): With the league-leading Boston Celtics sitting pretty in the No.1 spot, the fight is for spots two through eight. The current No. 2 Milwaukee Bucks may have a tough job holding onto that coveted position, as former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (pronounced YAH-niss ah-det-oh-KOON-boh) will miss the rest of the regular season after suffering an injury on Tuesday night, a tough break as the sneaky NY Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers press on.
- And with 2023 MVP Joel Embiid back from injury, the Philadelphia 76ers are making a late push to avoid the Play-In, unlike the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks, who clinched their respective No. 9 and No. 10 spots last night.
Western Conference (WC): The reigning champ Denver Nuggets currently lead the WC, but the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder have been hot all season and could technically snatch the No. 1 seed away this weekend. It’s too close to call.
- Meanwhile, the No. 4 LA Clippers and No. 5 Dallas Mavericks could swap seeds, but they’re guaranteed to yet again face off in the first round.
- As for the WC Play-In, the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, and LA Lakers are locked in, but two teams — the New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns — are neck and neck, both vying for that elusive No. 6 seed. Watch this space.
⛳ First and second round of the Masters continues today after weather delays
After a lengthy weather-delayed start, LIV golfer and heavy hitter Bryson DeChambeau leads the Masters with a seven-under-par score after Day 1. That said, 27 golfers — including Tiger Woods, who sits at an impressive one-under-par and tied for 17th — didn’t finish their round before play was suspended due to darkness.
- After surviving wind gusts up to 45 mph yesterday, they tee’d off early this morning to finish the remainder of the round and play their second. A tall task ahead of the cut.
🏒 Team Canada and Team USA advance to the IIHF Women’s World Championship semifinals
To absolutely no one’s surprise, Team Canada and Team USA won their quarter-finals, easily defeating Sweden and Japan, respectively, last night. Now all that’s left to do is defeat their semis opponents, Finland and Czechia, tomorrow before likely meeting in Sunday’s 5 p.m. ET final.
- While you can never count out the gritty Canadians, Team USA defeated Canada 1–0 in overtime during round-robin play and are the defending champs.
🥅 Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews hunts down 70-goal season
After scoring two beauties in last night’s 6–5 loss to the New Jersey Devils, Justin Bieber’s bestie is two goals away from having a 70-goal campaign, a stunning feat in an 82-game season.
- With seven days and three games remaining, can he become the first player to reach the 70-goal mark in more than 30 years?
⚾ Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter of baseball star Shohei Ohtani, is facing a federal charge of bank fraud after an alleged theft of more than $16M. The official complaint found that Mizuhara placed around 19K wagers from December 2021 to January 2024, resulting in over $40M in losses. Mizuhara is expected to surrender to federal authorities today.
🏀 The WNBA released its 2024 broadcast schedule on Wednesday, and the Indiana Fever — who hold this year’s No. 1 draft pick — will have 36 of their 40 regular season games televised by the league’s national broadcast and streaming partners this season, compared to 22 last year. The “Caitlin Clark effect” continues.
🔄 With the Arizona Coyotes’ future uncertain in Phoenix, the NHL has created two schedules for the 2024–25 season: one for the franchise remaining in Arizona and one for a potential relocation to Salt Lake City. Intriguing.
💰 World Athletics, the governing body of track and field, will introduce prize money at the Paris Olympics, paying $50K to gold medalists this summer. Payments for silver and bronze medalists will begin at the 2028 Games in LA. As Lizzo likes to say, it’s about damn time.
🚫 NBA commissioner Adam Silver said on Wednesday that Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter faces a permanent ban from the league if the sports gambling allegations against him are true.
🎓🏒 After their respective wins last night, No. 3 Denver and No. 1 Boston College will meet in the men’s Frozen Four national championship tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET. Puck yeah.
Together With Home Chef
Tired of your typical work from home lunch sammy? We know the feeling. That’s why we’ve partnered with Tempo by Home Chef, a weekly meal delivery service that provides you with flavorful and fresh individual meals that are ready in just three minutes.
- Use code GIST50 for 50% off your first box (a full week of meals!) and 25% off your next month of orders. Because when there’s a Carnitas Pork Bowl waiting in your fridge, you’ll look forward to your lunch break all day.
Here’s what has GIST HQ buzzing:
🏀 What to read
This article highlighting the unique impact of making the Sweet 16 on coaches of color in the men’s NCAA tournament. For UNC’s Hubert Davis, NC State’s Kevin Keatts, Marquette’s Shaka Smart, and Houston’s Kelvin Sampson, this milestone was more than just a ticket to the Big Dance.
🇫🇷 What to study
French. Get ready for the Paris Olympics this summer with some French dad jokes from Belgian baller Lisowa-Mbaka Maxuella.
💁♀️ How to stay trendy
With Gloria’s free weekly newsletter where you’ll find expert interviews and curated fashion recommendations so that you never go out of style. So fetch.
Question of the Day
As you read, there’s no shortage of sports to keep up with this weekend. What will you be watching and following most closely? Cast your vote below.
On Wednesday we asked you who your fave sports siblings are. 41% voted for the Williams sisters, 22% voted for the Kelce brothers, 19% voted for the Manning brothers, and 18% voted for the Ogwumike sisters.Today's email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Marga Sison, Monica Schrock, and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Laura Pastore, Janine Kiefer, Emma Leishman, Rachel Fuenzalida, and Lindsay Jost. Fact-checking by Annie Chan. Ops by Marga Sison and Annie Chan. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alexis Allison, and Dee Lab. Managing edits by Ellen Hyslop. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.